THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


•;. 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    E.   JOHNS  I  "N. 
AGE   83   YEARS. 


A  MEMOIR 


OF  THE 


LIFE  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICE 


OF 


JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON, 


ONCE  THE  QUARTERMASTER  GENERAL  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES, 

AND 

A  GENERAL  IN  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE 
STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


"Within  the  bounds  of  Annandale, 

The  gentle  Johnstoncs  ride ; 
They  have  been  there  a  thousand  years, 
A  thousand  more  they'll  bide." 


EDITED  BY 

BRADLEY   T.  JOHNSON, 

FORMERLY  A  SOLDIER  IN  THE  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA. 


I ILLUSTRATED. 


BALTIMORE: 

R.  II.  WOODWARD   &   COMPANY. 
1891. 


COPYRIGHTED,     1891, 

BY 
R.    H.   WOODWARD    &    COMPANY. 


College 
library 


< 


I  DEDICATE  THIS  WORI: 

To  MY  WIFE; 
MY  STAUNCH  COMRADE  IN  EVERY  FORTUNE, 

AND 

MY  UNFALTERING  ALLY  IN  MANY 
VICISSITUDES. 


1005681 


This  Memoir  has  been  prepared  at  the  request  of  some  old 
friends  and  soldiers  of  Gen.  Johnston,  and  because  I  wanted  to 
testify  my  affection  for  his  memory  and  my  respect  for  his  char- 
acter. I  was  with  him  at  the  beginning,  and  at  the  end  of  the  war 
between  the  States.  I  was  the  senior  captain  of  the  First  Mary- 
land Regiment,  before  its  organization,  commanding  it  when  he 
assumed  command  at  Harper's  Ferry,  marched  under  him  to  First 
Manassas,  and  became  in  due  course,  colonel  of  that  regiment  in 
his  army. 

I  knew  him  as  well  as  a  young  subordinate  ever  does  know  his 
commander-in-chief.  And  it  so  happened  that  I  was  in  command 
as  a  brigadier-general,  at  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  when  he  was 
at  Greensboro  in  April,  1865.  I  was  with  him  during  all  that  trying 
time,  and  it  was  at  my  headquarters  at  Salisbury  that  he  took 
leave  of  the  generals  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  after  the  conven- 
tion of  Durham's  Station.  I,  therefore,  knew  him  as  a  soldier  and 
as  a  man,  and  I  admired  and  loved  him.  Since  the  war  my  inter- 
course with  him  was  frequent  and  intimate. 

This  sketch,  written  in  a  light-cavalry  gallop,  does  not  pretend  to 
give  detail  of  his  campaigns  or  his  battles ;  it  only  seeks  to  give 
a  general  view  of  military  operations,  that  can  be  taken  in  at  a 
glance. 

The  particular  description  of  the  movements  of  troops,  of  the 
hour  they  started,  of  the  route  they  took,  of  the  minute  of  their 
arrival,  is,  I  think,  inexpressibly  tedious  and  confusing,  except  to 
the  technical  and  professional  student.  I  have,  therefore,  only 
tried  to  present  a  picture,  and  a  map,  together  with  a  photograph 
of  the  General,  as  we  all  knew  him,  and  as  we  want  posterity  to 
appreciate  him. 

There  is  a  general  feeling  among  our  own  people,  as  well  as  in 
the  country  at  large,  against  any  reminder  of  the  sufferings  of  that 
war,  and  against  any  reminiscence,  which  brings  back  painful 


VI  PREFACE. 

emotions.  But  it  is  right  and  just  that  our  own  children  should 
understand  the  causes  of  our  action,  and  that  they  should  justify 
us  for  resisting  such  a  civilization. 

Every  statement  herein  recorded  is  true,  and  can  be  substan- 
tiated by  incontestible  testimony. 

I  have  added  in  the  appendix  an  original  letter  of  Gen.  Grant's, 
as  a  matter  of  justice  to  him,  for  it  was  suppressed  by  the  adminis- 
tration of  Andrew  Johnson. 

A  comparison  between  the  Federal  Constitution  of  1789,  and  the 
Confederate  Constitution  of  1861,  is  appended,  showing  the  student 
of  the  evolution  of  institutions,  what  changes  the  Confederates 
sought  to  make  in  the  Constitution  their  fathers  had  done  so  much 
to  frame  and  to  establish  and  to  operate  successfully. 

BRADLEY  T.  JOHNSON. 
July  75,  1891. 


coNTRisnrs 


CHAPTER  I.                                     PAGE. 
BEFORE  THE  WAR i 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES 17 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  ARRAY  OF  VIRGINIA 26 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  CAMPAIGN,  OF  1861,  IN  VIRGINIA 36 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  BATTLE  OF  (FIRST)  MANASSAS 46 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE  FIRST  VICTORY 55 

CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  LINES  OF  CENTREVILLE 62 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  ARMY  OF  THE  SOUTHWEST 94 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  VICKSBURG  CAMPAIGN 101 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE  GEORGIA  CAMPAIGN 112 

CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID 119 

vii 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII.  PAGE. 

THE  DRAGONNADE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  AND  THE  SACK  OF 

COLUMBIA 151 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 181 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  CONVENTION  AT  DURHAM'S 226 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THK  RECORD  OF  SHERMAN'S  DRAGONNADE 239 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
AFTER  THE  SURRENDER 241 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  YEARS  OF  RECONSTRUCTION 244 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
DAVIS  AND  JOHNSTON 251 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
His  LAST  SICKNESS,  DEATH  AND  FUNERAL 270 

CHAPTER  XX. 
GEN.  DABNEV  H.  MAURY'S  REMINISCENCES 291 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
REMINISCENCES  OF  COL.  ARCHER  ANDERSON 307 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
THE  RICHMOND  MEMORIAL  MEETING  '. 318 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

REMINISCENCES  OF  GEN.  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON,  BY  A  NORTH- 
ERN SOLDIER 326 

Al-i-!  NDIX 330 


I      JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 
3      BRAXTON    BRA(.(.. 


5     J.  B.  HOOD. 


2      KIRBY    SMITH. 
4      I.    LONGSTREET. 


A    MEMOIR 

OF    THE 

LIKK    AND     PUBLIC     SKRVICK 

OF 

JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON, 

Once   the    Quartermaster- General  of  the   Army    of   the    United 
States,  and  a  General  in  the  Army  of  the  Con- 
federate States  of  America. 


CHAPTER   I. 

BEFORE    THE    WAR. 

ON  September  12,  1862,  General  Johnston  wrote  to 
President  Davis,  from  his  headquarters  at  Manas- 
sas,  protesting  against  the  relative  rank  as  General 
assigned  him  by  the  President.  "It  seeks  to  tarnish 
my  fair  fame  as  a  soldier  and  as  a  man,  earned  by  more 
than  thirty  years  of  laborious  and  perilous  service.  I 
had  but  this — the  scars  of  many  wounds  all  honestly 
taken  in  my  front,  and  in  the  front  of  battle,  and  my 
father's  revolutionary  sword.  It  was  delivered  to  me 
from  his  venerable  hand  without  a  stain  of  dishonor. 
Its  blade  is  still  unblemished,  as  when  it  passed  from 
his  hand  to  mine.  I  drew  it  in  the  war  not  for  rank  or 
fame,  but  to  defend  the  sacred  soil,  the  homes  and 


2  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

hearths,  and  the  women  and  children,  aye,  and  the 
men  of  my  Mother  Virginia,  my  native  South.  It  may 
hereafter  be  the  sword  of  a  general  leading  armies,  or 
of  a  private  volunteer.  But  while  I  live  and  have  an 
arm  to  wield  it,  it  shall  never  be  sheathed  until  the 
freedom,  independence  and  full  rights  of  the  South  are 
achieved.  When  that  is  done,  it  may  well  be  a  matter 
of  small  concern  to  the  government,  to  Congress,  or  to 
the  country,  what  my  rank  or  lot  may  be.  I  shall  be 
satisfied  if  my  country  stands  among  the  powers  of  the 
world  free,  powerful  and  victorious,  and  that  I,  as  a 
general,  a  lieutenant,  or  a  volunteer  soldier,  have  borne 
my  part  in  the  glorious  strife  and  contributed  to  the  final 
blessed  consummation."* 

I  have  begun  this  tribute  of  love,  respect  and  admira- 
tion with  this  expression  of  sentiment  by  Gen.  Johnston, 
because  I  think  it  gives  the  key  to  his  character,  and  his 
conduct  in  the  war  between  the  States. 

The  son  of  a  revolutionary  soldier,  married  to  the 
daughter  of  his  father's  comrade,  all  the  environment  of 
early  growth,  and  all  the  influences  of  mature  life,  con- 
duced to  impress  upon  his  character,  sentiments  of  devo- 
tion to  duty,  and  to  country,  to  truth,  and  to  honor,  and 
to  develop  that  chivalry  and  nobility  which  were  his 
dominating  characteristics. 

"  My  Mother  Virginia,"  for  whom  his  father  fought 
under  Greene  and  Lee,  for  whom  he  bled  in  Florida  and 
Mexico,  was  to  him  the  ideal  of  a  lofty  devotion. 
"My  father's  revolutionary  sword,"  stainless  when  it 

'Memoir  of  Jefferson  Davis,  vol.  2,  page  151. 


BEFORE    THE    WAR.  3 

came  to  him,  stainless  it  should  ever  be,  and  its  lessons 
of  chivalry,  patriotism,  fortitude  and  patience,  were 
ever  present  during  all  the  trials  of  a  stormy  life.  This 
outgiving  of  his  feelings,  I  have  therefore  selected  as  an 
introduction  to  a  memoir  of  his  public  service. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  there  reported  to 
Washington,  then  commanding  the  army  before  Boston, 
a  young  Virginian,  captain  of  a  troop  of  cavalry,  aged 
nineteen,  ardent,  enterprising  and  daring.  He  was 
descended  from  Lionel  Lee,  who  rode  with  Richard 
Coeur  de  Lion  on  the  Third  Crusade,  like  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  company  of  gentlemen  volunteers,  and  who 
for  his  services  was  made  first  earl  of  Litchfield,  and 
also  from  Richard  Lee  who,  with  Sir  William  Berkley, 
held  the  Old  Dominion  for  the  king  against  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  who,  as  commissioner  from  Virginia, 
proceeded  to  Breda,  and  urged  Charles  II.  to  take 
refuge  with  his  loyal  friends  and  establish  his  govern- 
ment as  King  of  Virginia,  for  the  kings  of  England 
claimed  to  be  kings  also  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  France 
and  Virginia. 

He  was  the  son  of  that  Miss  Grymes  who  Washing- 
ton celebrated  in  adolescent  and  immature  verse  as  his 
Lowland  beauty,  and  who  was  his  first  love. 

Under  such  auspices  it  can  easily  be  understood  that 
he  was  welcomed  with  interest  by  the  commander-in- 
chief,  whose  notice  and  confidence  he  soon  compelled 
by  his  activity  and  intelligence.  He  had  that  genius 
for  war  which  is  bred  in  some  breeds;  in  no  English 
one,  probably,  so  marked  as  in  this  race  of  Lee.  Gen. 


4  LIFE    OF   GEN.   JOSEPH   E.  JOHNSTON. 

Charles  Lee,  no  kin  to  the  Virginia  Lees,  said  of  him: 
"He  came  a  soldier  from  his  mother's  womb." 

In  the  operations  in  1777,  1778  and  1780  in  New 
York,  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  he  was  always 
placed  near  the  enemy,  intrusted  with  the  command  of 
outposts  and  the  superintendence  of  scouts,  and  was  the 
eye  and  ear  of  Washington.  His  activity  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  enemy,  and  on  the  2Oth  January, 
1778,  they  attempted  to  cut  him  off.  The  reserve  of 
his  picket  line  was  then  posted  at  the  Spread  Eagle 
Tavern,  about  six  miles  below  Valley  Forge.  A  force 
of  two  hundred  British  light  horse  rode  through  his 
lines  and  reached  his  quarters  about  daylight.  Lee, 
with  two  officers  and  five  men,  barricaded  the  doors  and 
windows  of  the  tavern  and  fought  with  such  vigor  and 
determination  that  after  a  contest  of  half  an  hour  the 
enemy  withdrew,  fearing  infantry  reinforcements.  Lee 
took  horse  with  his  squad  and  actually  pursued  them 
to  the  British  lines. 

Such  an  exploit  rang  through  the  army  like  the  sound 
of  a  bugle.  The  commander-in-chief  thanked  Lee  and 
his  comrades  in  general  orders.  Congress  promoted 
him  to  the  rank  of  major,  and  gave  him  an  independent 
partisan  corps  to  consist  of  three  troops  of  horse.  The 
surprise  and  capture  of  Paulus  Hook,  in  August,  1780, 
was  rewarded  by  Congress  with  a  vote  of  thanks  and  a 
gold  medal.  In  the  fall  of  1780  the  American  cause 
in  the  South  seemed  irretrievable.  Gates'  Northern 
laurels  had  withered  into  Southern  willows,  Georgia 
was  conquered,  South  Carolina  overrun,  North  Carolina 


BEFORE    THE    WAR.  5 

paralyzed  by  internal  factions;  and  with  the  conquest 
of  Virginia  Cornwallis  hoped  to  restore  all  of  the  coun- 
try south  of  the  Potomac  to  its  allegiance.  In  response 
to  the  urgent  appeals  of  those  States,  Greene  was  sent 
them,  to  restore  the  ruined  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  commander-in-chief  could  make  no  greater  sacri- 
fice, nor  afford  more  efficient  assistance,  than  by  detach- 
ing Lee  and  his  legion.  Congress  made  him  lieutenant- 
colonel,  and  added  to  his  corps  three  companies  of 
infantry.  It  was  the  finest  corps  that  made  its  appear- 
ance on  the  arena  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  men 
were  the  best  mounted,  on  three-quarter  or  full-bred 
horses,  best  armed,  best  equipped,  best  drilled  and  best 
disciplined  in  the  whole  army.  They  were  picked 
volunteers  from  all  the  other  corps,  and  made  a  corps 
d'elite,  which  is  capable,  under  proper  leadership,  of 
accomplishing  anything  that  soldiers  can  do.  The 
cavalry  had  the  free  use  of  the  sabre,  and  rode  into 
action  "boot  to  boot,"  says  tradition,  and  were  hand- 
somely uniformed.  An  old  soldier  tells  me  he  don't 
believe  this.  No  Southern  cavalry  ever  were  made,  or 
can  be  made,  to  ride  "boot  to  boot."  He  fought  under 
Stuart,  and  he  knows. 

When,  therefore,  Lee's  legion,  in  the  early  winter  of 
1780,  marched  through  the  county  side  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  they  set  the  country 
aflame.  Their  commander,  the  impersonation  of  manly 
beauty,  of  knightly  grace  and  of  soldierly  bearing, 
carried  his  twenty-two  years  like  a  decoration,  and  not 
a  man  behind  him  but  bore  the  port  and  mien  of  martial 


6  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

valor.  Just  before  Christmas,  1780,  this  martial  array, 
aroused  the  hamlet  of  Farmville,  in  Prince  Edward 
county,  Virginia.  At  school  there,  was  Peter  Johnston, 
grandson  of  a  Scotchman,  and  of  that  blood  whose  feud 
with  the  Maxwell's  has  furnished  food  for  song  and 
story  for  three  centuries.  Without  standing  upon  any 
order,  without  why  or  wherefore,  young  Peter  threw 
aside  books,  mounted  his  horse,  and  "joined  the 
cavalry." 

His  intelligence  and  courage  soon  won  him  the  com- 
mission of  ensign,  and  for  leading  the  forlorn  hope  in 
the  attack  on  Wright's  Bluff,  in  South  Carolina,  where 
he  cut  away  the  abattis  to  clear  a  way  for  the  storming 
party,  Peter  Johnston  was  thanked  in  orders. 

The  war  over,  he  returned  to  Prince  Edward,  where 
he  embraced  the  profession  of  the  law  and  became 
judge  of  the  circuit  embracing  the  southwestern  part  of 
Virginia.  He  was  Speaker  of  the  Virginia  House  of 
Delegates  when  the  resolutions  of  1798-99  were  adopted 
by  that  body. 

He  married  Mary  Wood,  a  niece  of  Patrick  Henry, 
who  on  February  3,  1807,  bore  him  a  son  who  was 
named  Joseph  Eggleston,  after  a  Captain  of  the  Legion, 
his  father's  comrade  and  friend. 

The  child  was  born  at  Cherry  Grove,  his  father's 
plantation,  near  Farmville,  Virginia,  and  spent  his  early 
years  amid  the  scenes  and  surrounded  by  the  traditions 
which  clustered  around  the  hearth  of  a  revolutionary 
soldier.  His  father  had  been  a  soldier  of  the  Legion. 
His  godfather  for  whom  he  was  named  had  ridden  with 


BEFORE    THE    WAR.  7 

Lee  and  charged  with  Washington  ;  in  his  mother's 
veins  was  the  blood  of  the  leader  of  the  resistance  to 
tyranny  in  America,  the  forest  born  Demosthenes,  and 
every  breath  the  child  and  lad  breathed,  inspired  him 
with  the  tradition  of  liberty,  the  sentiment  of  chivalry 
and  devotion  to  honor,  right  and  duty. 

Every  gentleman  in  the  neighboring  country  had 
ridden  with  William  Campbell,  to  drive  back  Ferguson, 
and  had  formed  part  of  that  circle  of  fire  which  had 
destroyed  British  control  in  the  South,  at  the  battle  of 
King's  Mountain. 

With  such  surroundings,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
become  a  soldier,  and  in  1829,  he  graduated  at  the 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point  in  the  same  class  with 
Robert  Edward  Lee — son  of  his  father's  commander, 
comrade  and  life  long  friend,  and  was  commissioned 
Second  Lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Artillery,  as  is  customary 
in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States.  He  served 
his  turn  of  garrison  duty  at  the  various  posts  of  the 
United  States  at  Fort  Columbus,  New  York  in  1830-31, 
at  Fort  Monroe,  Virginia  in  1831-32  ;  was  in  the  Indian 
war  with  Black  Hawk  on  the  northwest  frontier  in  1832, 
where  he  served  with  Jefferson  Davis,  Lieutenant  of 
Infantry  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  Captain  of  Volunteers. 
He  was  in  garrison  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in 
1832-3,  during  the  nullification  controversy,  and  I  have 
found  no  account  of  the  position  taken  by  him  at  that 
period.  Many  officers  of  the  army  contemplated  resig- 
nation rather  than  to  bear  arms  for  the  subjugation  of  a 
State,  but  I  am  not  justified  to  say  that  Lieutenant  John- 


8  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

ston  entertained  those  views.  General  Jackson  was  a 
Southern  soldier — he  had  led  Southern  men  in  battle  and 
it  might  well  have  been  that  the  son  of  Peter  Johnston 
of  the  Legion  would  have  followed  the  hero  of  the  battle 
of  the  Horse  Shoe  and  of  Chalmette. 

He  was  on  duty  at  Fort  Monroe  in  1833-34,  at  Fort 
Madison,  North  Carolina  in  1834,  an<^  on  topographical 
duty  in  1834-35.  He  was  promoted  First  Lieutenant 
Fourth  Artillery,  July  31,  1836,  and  served  as  aid-de- 
camp on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Scott  in  1836-8,  during  the 
Seminole  war.  He  resigned  on  May  31,  1837,  and 
pursued  the  profession  of  Civil  Engineer.  He  had 
married  Louisa  McLane,  daughter  of  Lewis  McLane 
and  grand-daughter  of  Capt.  Allan  McLane,  who  had 
commanded  a  troop  of  dragoons  in  the  army  under 
Washington. 

Louis  McLane  had  been  Secretary  of  tne  Treasury 
and  of  State,  and  Minister  to  England  in  Jackson's 
administration,  but  in  1837  had  been  made  Presi- 
dent of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  in 
which  corporation,  all  the  energies  of  the  City  of  Balti- 
more, and  the  State  of  Maryland,  were  concentrated  in 
the  enterprise  of  opening  the  western  country  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  Atlantic  ports.  The  slow  promotion  in  the 
Army  offered  small  inducement  to  an  able  and  ambitious 
young  man,  to  devote  his  life  to  the  profession  of  arms, 
and  the  construction  of  the  great  road  to  the  west,  of 
which  his  father-in-law  was  president,  seemed  to  open  a 
career  of  usefulness  and  honor,  which  it  was  his  duty 
to  embrace. 


BEFORE    THE    WAR.  9 

But  the  call  to  his  soldier  blood  could  not  be  resisted, 
and  he  returned  to  the  army  in  Florida  with  the  rank  of 
first  lieutenant  of  topographical  engineers,  on  July  7, 
1838. 

The  struggle  of  the  Seminoles  to  retain  possession  of 
the  graves  of  their  ancestors  and  the  homes  of  their 
fathers,  was  but  another  chapter  in  the  history  of  the 
never  ending  encroachment  of  the  superior  race  upon 
the  inferior,  and  another  illustration  of  the  irreconcilable 
conflict  forever  going  on  between  the  forces  of  civiliza- 
tion and  barbarism.  Whenever,  wherever  and  however 
any  black,  brown  or  colored  race  has  ever  anywhere, 
possessed  anything,  the  white  race  wanted,  the  whites 
have  taken  it  from  them.  Whether  it  be  the  invasion  of 
the  peninsula  of  Hindostan,  or  the  Valley  of  the  Nile, 
or  the  fertile  plains  of  Western  Europe,  or  the  two 
American  continents,  the  fair-haired  race  from  the  table 
lands  of  Central  Asia  has  possessed  the  land  and  has 
cultivated  it.  It  is  now  about  to  exterminate  the  inferior 
races  of  Africa,  just  as  in  the  last  three  centuries  it  has 
eliminated  the  colored  races  in  America.  Peruvian  and 
Mexican,  Pequot  and  Susquehannah,  Cherokee,  Choc- 
taw,  Sioux  and  Sac,  have  all  faded  away,  by  the  opera- 
tion of  the  inexorable  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
But  the  Seminole  made  gallant  and  bloody  defence. 
In  the  dark  recesses  of  the  cypress  swamps,  in  the 
gloomy  aisles  of  the  everglades,  for  a  generation  they 
defied  pursuit  or  capture.  Many  a  soldier  in  blue  was 
lost  there,  leaving  not  a  trace,  and  the  black  waters  of 
those  mysterious  alleys,  closed  over  and  concealed 


IO  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

many  a  tragedy.  The  pursuit  of  the  Seminoles  was  as 
perilous  and  thankless  a  duty  as  ever  a  soldier  per- 
formed. 

During  the  Christmas  holidays,  1835,  Major  Dade, 
with  no  men,  was  set  upon,  and  the  last  man  toma- 
hawked and  killed.  This  was  known  in  army  chroni- 
cles as  Dade's  massacre. 

When,  therefore,  Lieutenant  Johnston  reported  for 
duty  to  General  Zachary  Taylor,  in  July,  1838,  it  was 
on  no  holiday  tour  he  was  about  to  embark,  nor  the 
work  of  a  carpet  knight,  that  he  undertook.  Toil,  priva- 
tion, danger,  the  lot  of  every  soldier,  never  confronted 
one  in  more  forms,  than  in  the  war  in  Florida  with  the 
Seminoles.  As  a  skilled  and  experienced  engineer,  his 
services  were  immediately  called  into  requisition.  The 
amphibious  requirements  of  the  everglades  necessitated 
the  organization  of  a  corps,  half  marine  and  half  mili- 
tary. Boats  manned  by  sailors  were  used  to  convey 
soldiers  on  reconnoissance  and  from  place  to  place. 

A  force  of  this  kind,  to  which  Lieutenant  Johnston 
was  attached  as  engineer,  with  no  command  of  troops, 
was  exploring  the  lakes  and  ponds  and  water  alleys  of 
the  everglades,  in  boats,  when  they  ran  into  an  ambus- 
cade, and  at  the  first  fire  from  the  banks  the  officer  in 
command  was  killed.  In  an  instant  Johnston  assumed 
command,  asserted  control  of  the  men,  landed  them, 
charged  his  concealed  enemy  and  drove  them  from 
cover  to  cover,  until  he  had  restored  the  moral  of  the 
command,  and  then  fought  his  way  back  seven  miles 
to  camp.  Lieut.  Robert  M,  McLane,  of  the  fourth 


BEFORE    THE    WAR. 

artillery,  his  brother-in-law,  was  sent  out  with  a  party  to 
reinforce  and  cover  him,  but  he  found  Johnston  in  per- 
fect control  of  the  situation,  falling  back  on  his  own 
terms  and  at  his  own  convenience.  McLane  has  since 
been  Member  of  Congress,  Governor  of  Maryland  and 
Minister  to  France,  but  he  has  never  performed  more 
gallant  duty  than  this  of  leading  a  forlorn  hope  to  the 
rescue  of  his  friend  and  comrade. 

During  this  affair  Lieutenant  Johnston  was  hit  by  a 
rifle  ball  on  the  top  of  the  forehead,  and  the  ball  running 
round  under  the  scalp,  came  out  behind,  inflicting  a 
flesh  wound,  not  serious.  The  coat  he  wore  on  this 
occasion  was  long  preserved  as  a  curiosity  in  the  com- 
mand. It  had  thirty  bullet  holes  in  it.  A  suitable 
souvenir  for  the  son  of  Ensign  Johnston,  who  cut  away 
the  abattis  at  Wright's  Bluff  in  1781  to  clear  the  way 
for  the  stormers.  He  was  in  charge  of  the  Black  River 
improvement  in  New  York  in  1838-39,  of  the  Sault  St. 
Marie  in  1840,  the  boundary  line  between  Texas  and 
the  United  States  in  1841,  the  harbors  on  Lake  Erie  in 
1841,  and  the  Topographical  Bureau  at  Washington  in 
1841-42.  He  again  served  in  the  Florida  War  in 
1842-43,  when  the  long  struggle  was  substantially 
brought  to  an  end  by  the  expatriation  and  extermination 
of  the  Semjnoles. 

He  was  acting  assistant  adjutant  general  in  1842-43, 
was  on  the  survey  of  the  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  the  British  Provinces  in  1843-44,  and  on  the 
coast  survey  in  1844-46,  and  was  promoted  captain  in 
the  corps  of  topographical  engineers  September  21,  1846. 


12  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    K.   JOHNSTON. 

The  annexation  of  Texas  brought  on  a  war  with  Mexico, 
and  two  lines  of  operation  were  decided  upon  by  the 
administration  of  Polk  against  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 

One  was  by  an  army  moving  from  the  lower  part  of 
the  Rio  Grande  to  occupy  and  segregate  the  Northern 
States  of  Mexico  from  the  capital,  the  other  was  by 
direct  attack  on  the  Fortress  of  Vera  Cruz,  to  secure  it 
as  the  base  of  operations  against  the  City  of  Mexico. 
These  two  co-operating  movements  were  believed  to  be 
most  effective,  and  were  adopted  as  the  strategy  of 
the  war. 

The  campaign  of  Scott,  beginning  with  the  reduction 
of  the  Fortress  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa  and  the  fortified 
city  of  Vera  Cruz  and  ending  writh  the  capture  and  occu- 
pation of  the  City  of  Mexico,  for  military  genius  in  the 
commander,  for  endurance,  daring  and  gallantry  in 
officers  and  men,  is  not  excelled  in  the  annals  of  war. 
The  highroad  from  the  seaport  to  the  capital  has  been 
for  centuries  the  way  of  approach  to  the  heart  of  Mexico. 
Constructed  probably  by  the  Astecs,  improved  by  the 
engineering  skill  of  the  Spaniards  when  they  were  the 
first  soldiers  of  the  age,  it  had  been  fortified  and  pre- 
pared for  defence  by  all  the  expedients  known  to  the 
military  art.  Cortez  marched. over  it  to  the  Conquest  of 
Mexico,  and  prevailed  with  superior  arms  and  civilized 
skill  over  an  army  half  barbarian,  and  insufficiently 
equipped. 

Scott  moved  over  the  same  line  with  an  utterly  inferior 
force  in  numbers,  against  fortifications  constructed  on  the 
most  approved  principles  of  engineering,  and  mounted 
with  the  best  artilery  that  modern  art  could  furnish. 


BEFORE    THE    WAR.  13 

The  roadway  from  the  sea  rises  over  successive 
chains  of  mountains,  and  passes  through  mountain 
gorges  which  one  after  another  were  defended  by  earth 
works  and  heavy  guns  ranged  in  parallel  lines  one 
above  the  other.  At  three  days  march  from  Vera  Cruz, 
the  pass  of  Cerro  Gordo  made  an  obstacle  almost  insur- 
mountable. 

The  Mexican  General  in  Chief,  Santa  Anna,  with 
sixteen  thousand  men,  occupied  this  formidable  position. 
The  road  led  through  a  rocky  ravine,  overhung  on  each 
side  by  precipices  fortified  with  line  above  line,  of  earth- 
works, defended  by  artillery  and  infantry. 

On  the  iSth  of  April,  1847,  Scott,  with  eight  thousand 
men',  attacked  and  carried  the  place,  with  the  precision 
of  a  game  of  chess. 

Every  movement  of  every  brigade  was  worked  out 
beforehand,  every  hour  specified  every  route  marked  out, 
and  all  explained  in  orders  to  the  troops  before  going 
into  action.  Scott's  order  of  battle  of  the  iyth  was  a 
prophecy  of  what  would  be  done  as  well  as  an  order  of 
what  ought  to  be  done.  Captain  Johnston,  in  discharge 
of  his  duty  as  topographical  engineer,  made  the  recon- 
noissance  on  which  Scott's  plan  and  movements  were 
largely  based,  and  in  so  doing  he  was  badly  wounded 
and  for  which  he  was  promoted  Lieutenant  Colonel  and 
Colonel  April  12,  1847,  his  promotion  being  for  gallant 
and  meritorious  service  at  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo, 
was  dated  from  the  day  of  the  service  and  the  wound, 
and  not  from  the  day  of  th*e  battle. 

Scott    says    in    his    report:       "The    plan    of    attack 


14  I^IFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

sketched  in  General  Orders  No.  in  forwarded  herewith, 
was  finely  executed  by  this  gallant  army  before  2  o'clock 
P.  M.  yesterday." 

Pressing  on  with  vigor  and  determination  in  August, 
Scott  carried  the  fortified  positions  of  Contreras  and 
Cherubusco.  The  fortress  of  Chapultepec  then  con- 
fronted him  as  the  last  tenable  point  of  defence,  for  the 
City  of  Mexico. 

Chapultepec  is  the  historical  fortress  of  Mexico. 
Occupied  by  the  Astec  Emperors,  it  was  retained  by 
theit-'Spanish  successors  as  the  key  to  the  Valley  of 
Mexico  and  to  the  capitol  of  the  nation.  Crowned  by  a 
strong  building  of  masonry,  which  had  been  a  palace, 
and  then  converted  into  a  citadel,  the  base  of  the  hill 
was  girdled  by  a  stone  wall  four  feet  thick  and  twenty 
feet  high. 

The  lower  slope  was  honey-combed  with  mines 
and  protected  by  breast-works  heavily  manned  with 
troops.  The  place  was  inaccessible  save  by  storm. 
The  position  of  the  wall  was  such  as  to  render  a  breach 
by  artillery  impracticable,  and  the  only  way  through, 
was  to  go  over  by  aid  of  ladders. 

On  September  13,  1847,  the  intrepid  Americans  car- 
ried the  place  by  assault.  Lieutenant-colonel  Johnston 
leading  four  companies  of  the  voltigeurs.  He  was 
severely  wounded,  but  Scott  reported  that  he  was  the 
first  to  plant  a  regimental  color  on  the  ramparts  of  the 

fortress. 

• 

An  army  tradition  says  that  Johnston's  ladder  proving 
too  short,  lithe  and  active  as  an  athlete,  he  made  a 


BEFORE    THE    WAR.  1 5 

soldier  raise  him  on  his  shoulders,  and  thus  shove  him 
into  an  embrasure,  whereby  he  got  in  first. 

The  surrender  of  the  City  of  Mexico  and  the  peace 
followed,  and  he  came  home  with  a  reputation  second  to 
none  in  that  galaxy  of  brilliant  soldiers.  Among  his 
comrades  were  Pierce,  afterwards  President  of  the 
United  States;  Captain  Robert  E.  Lee,  Lieutenant 
Hooker,  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ; 
Beauregard,  E.  Kirby  Smith,  Stevens,  who  died  under 
the  Union  flag  at  Chantilly;  Dabney  Maury,  who  won 
fame  by  his  defence  at  Mobile  against  Farragut ;  Geo. 
B.  McClellan,  and  that  long  list,  who  then  and  since 
have  shed  imperishable  renown,  on  the  name  and  valor 
of  the  American  soldier. 

Johnston's  training  and  accomplishment  was  second 
to  that  of  no  man  who  ever  wore  the  uniform  of  a 
soldier.  His  experience  with  troops  in  Florida  and  in 
Mexico  had  made  him  master  of  that  art  which  directs 
the  movement,  transportation  and  subsistence  of  troops 
in  the  field.  His  employment  as  engineer  on  fortifica- 
tions had  afforded  him  an  opportunity  for  study  and 
reflection,  which  the  life  of  an  active  soldier  in  war 
never  gives,  and  his  extraordinary  intellectual  force  and 
ability  had  enabled  him  to  improve  his  great  opportuni- 
ties to  the  utmost.  As  if  fate  were  preparing  him  for  a 
great  career,  he  served  as  chief  of  topographical  engi- 
neers in  the  department  of  Texas  in  1852-53,  was  in 
charge  of  Western  river  improvements  in  1853-55,  an^ 
was  acting  and  inspector-general  of  the  Utah  Expedi- 
tion of  1858.  As  if  to  give  the  last  measure  of  the 


l6  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

widest  broadest  military  education,  he  was  appointed 
quartermaster-general  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States, 
June  28,  1860. 

Thus  having  personally  led  troops  in  action,  as  staff 
officer  having  directed  an  army  in  the  field,  as  engineer 
having  selected  and  prepared  lines  for  defence,  he  had 
been  trained  in  the  largest  and  severest  school  of  the 
soldier,  physically  and  intellectually,  and  I  do  not  claim 
too  much  when  I  assert  that  in  the  year  1861  he  was  the 
best  equipped  soldier  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States, 
accomplished  in  all  the  knowledge  of  the  art  of  war 
and  capable  of  directing  great  affairs  and  great  armies. 
He  was  master  of  the  art  of  logistics,  the  art  of  man- 
aging armies. 

Lee  was  a  great  soldier,  but  he  had  not  had  the 
scientific  training  that  Johnston  had.  McClellan  was  a 
great  soldier,  but  he  never  had  enjoyed  the  diversified 
experience  that  good  fortune  and  his  own  merit  had 
afforded  Johnston. 


AOE   70  YEARS. 


THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.  17 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE   WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES. 

IT  is  proper  here  to  consider  the  political  conditions 
J  which  brought  on  the  war  between  the  States,  and 
which  justified  and  required  Johnston  to  resign  high 
rank  in  an  established  army,  to  cast  his  fortune  with  a 
side  when  he  knew  success  was  doubtful,  and  where  he 
also  knew  that  failure  meant  ruin  to  him. 

But  the  principles  which  controlled  his  conduct  were 
so  well  defined  that  a  bare  statement  of  them  will  suffice. 

"My  Mother  Virginia"  and  "My  Father's  Revolu- 
tionary Sword  "  give  the  key  to  .his  sentiment  and  the 
clue  to  his  action. 

Virginia  was  his  native  land,  for  whom  his  father's 
sword  had  aided  to  achieve  independence,  and  while  he 
had  breath  and  an  arm  his  heart  could  never  cease  to 
love  his  mother  State  nor  his  sword  to  defend  her.  A 
silly  slander  has  been  reiterated  for  thirty  years,  by 
people  who  know  better  and  who  persist  in  mendacity 
out  of  pure  malice,  that  the  gentlemen,  who,  educated  at 
West  Point,  resigned  their  commissions  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States  to  defend  their  mother's  homes  and  their 
father's  graves,  were  basely  ungrateful  to  the  hand  which 
fed  them  and  had  trained  them  in  the  profession  of  arms ; 
nothing  can  be  baser  than  this  falsehood.  Lee  and  John- 
ston were  educated  at  West  Point  by  Virginia  money  con- 
tributed by  taxes  paid  by  Virginia  for  the  common  defence, 


l8  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

and  there  never  has  been  a  day  since  Virginia  entered  the 
Union  in  1789,  that  the  money  paid  by  Virginia  to  the 
Federal  government  has  ever  been  returned  to  her  by 
expenditures  within  her  borders  or  to  her  people.  They 
were  Virginia  soldiers  trained  at  Virginia's  expense, 
and  when  she  needed  them  they  came  to  her  like  noble 
sons  as  they  were. 

George  Washington  bore  the  commission  and  the 
uniform  of  the  King  of  England,  and  he  doffed  the 
one  and  resigned  the  other  to  defend  his  Mother  Virginia. 
He  was  traitor  and  rebel  sure  enough,  but  success 
crowned  him  Pater  Patria  and  apotheosized  him  as 
Hero,  Patriot  and  Sage.  But  if  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had 
pushed  his  advantage  at  Monmouth,  Washington  might 
have  been  tried  before  a  special  commission  as  Der- 
wentwater  or  Monmouth  had  been  tried  before  him,  and 
might  have  been  hung,  drawn  and  quartered,  and  his 
head  and  limbs  would  have  decorated  Temple  Bar. 

But  this  misfortune  surely  would  not  have  changed 
the  nature  of  his  character  or  the  tenor  of  his  conduct. 
He  would  have  still  been  the  patriot,  defending  his 
native  land  and  the  hero,  dying  as  Hampden  had  died 
before,  in  defence  of  the  liberties  inherited  from  free 
ancestors. 

Therefore  it  would  seem  that  the  only  difference 
between  Washington,  who  left  the  British  Army  to 
defend  his  Mother  Virginia,  and  Johnston  who  left  the 
Federal  Army,  then  having  become  the  Army  of  the 
Northern  States  to  defend  his  Mother  Virginia,  is  only 
the  difference  between  success  and  failure — which  his- 


THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.  19 

torically,  morally  or  logically,  can  in  no  way  affect  the 
question. 

The  settlements  of  the  English  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  the  North  American  Continents  were  made  by  au- 
thority of  grants  from  the  English  Crown.  At  common 
law  all  corporations  must  be  created  by  the  Crown  and 
the  creation  of  corporations  for  the  purpose  of  settling 
the  newly  discovered  country  beyond  the  Atlantic  was 
the  exercise  of  the  long  used,  and  admitted  power,  inher- 
ent in  the  Crown.  Some  were  trading  corporations,  as 
the  grant  to  the  London  Company  or  the  Plymouth 
Company,  or  the  Virginia  Company.  Some  were  corpo- 
rations sole,  as  the  grants  to  Penn,  to  Calvert,  to  Sir 
William  Alexander.  These  corporations  were  as  dis- 
tinct and  separate  as  those  of  London  or  of  Yarmouth. 

They  were  all  amenable  to  the  law  and  were  respon- 
sible to  the  process  of  scire  facias  of  quo  warranto  or  of 
mandamus.  They  could  be  restrained  from  exercising 
power  not  granted  to  them,  and  their  charters  could  be 
taken  away  for  an  abuse  of  their  powers.  They  could 
be  compelled  to  perform  their  duty  to  the  King  or  to 
their  fellow  subjects,  and  the  Court  of  Kings  Bench  or 
High  Court  of  Chancery  had  ample  power  to  compel 
them  to  do  right. 

In  1775,  these  distinct  and  separate  corporations  un- 
dertook to  free  themselves  from  the  control  of  the  Crown 
and  of  the  Crowns  Courts,  and  meeting  in  a  convention 
at  Philadelphia,  each  equal  to  the  other,  agreed  in  1778, 
to  terms  of  confederation,  in  order  to  form  a  perpetual 
union  of  free,  equal  and  sovereign  States.  They  all 


2O  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

joined  in  this  union  except  Maryland,  who  acted  with 
and  supported  them  until  1781,  when  she  also  came  in. 

On  July  4,  1776,  these  thirteen  Provinces  or  Corpo- 
rations united  in  declaring  to  the  world  that  henceforth 
they  were  free  and  independent  States. 

In  1778,  France  made  a  treaty  of  perpetual  alliance 
with  the  thirteen  United  Colonies,  naming  each  one 

7  O 

separately  as  one  of  the  contracting  parties. 

The  treaty  with  the  king  of  Great  Britain  in  1783 
acknowledged  the  United  States,  viz:  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts  Bay,  &c.,  naming  each  one  of  the  thirteen 
to  be  "  free,  sovereign  and  independent  States,"  and 
"that  he  treated  with  them  as  such." 

When  the  articles  of  confederation  proved  to  be 
inefficient,  the  States,  as  States,  called  a  convention  to 
reform  those  articles,  they  met  as  equal  States,  each 
having  an  equal  vote,  framed  a  new  constitution  as 
States  and  submitted  it  for  ratification  or  rejection  by 
each  State  for  itself.  Eleven  States  seceded  from  the 
confederation,  which  by  its  terms  was  to  be  perpetual, 
and  formed  a  new  union  which  was  to  be  more  perfect 
than  the  perpetual  union  which  had  only  lasted  ten 
years.  The  prime  mover  in  this  secession,  who  presided 
over  the  secession  convention  at  Philadelphia,  and  who 
signed  the  act  of  secession  called  the  Constitution,  was 
George  Washington,  known  to  the  world  and  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen  as  the  father  of  his  country. 
During  all  this  time,  while  these  tremendous  events 
were  occurring  when  the  thirteen  free  and  independent 
States  were  struggling  for  life,  first  by  forming  a  "  per- 


THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.  21 

petual  union,"  and  then  by  seceding  from  that  union  and 
endeavoring  to  form  a  "more  perfect  one,"  under  an 
amended  constitution,  when  two  States  refused  to 
secede,  and  held  on  to  the  old  original  Simon  Pure  Union, 
no  one,  any  where,  had  hinted,  or  pretended  to  intimate, 
that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  an  American  Nation. 
The  thirteen  States  united — the  eleven  States  united, 
consisted  of  thirteen  or  of  eleven  free  sovereign  and  in- 
dependent States.  So  they  proclaimed  themselves,  so 
the  King  of  England  had  acknowledged  them,  so  the 
King  of  France  had  treated  them,  so  all  the  Christian 
powers  had  esteemed  them. 

Virginia,  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  in  seceding 
from  the  confederation  and  acceding  to  the  union,  had 
expressly  reserved  to  each  the  right  and  power  to  with- 
draw from  the  latter,  as  fully  as  they  had  from  the  former, 
and  they  explicitly  disclaimed  the  right  or  power  to  bind 
the  hands  of  posterity  by  any  form  of  government  what- 
ever. Most  of  the  seceding  States  on  joining  the  new 
union,  had  insisted  on  certain  amendments  to  the  ordi- 
nance of  secession,  called  the  Constitution,  in  order  to 
make  plain  beyond  doubt  or  cavil,  the  nature  of  the 
new  compact,  and  the  very  first  business  transacted  by 
the  Congress  of  the  Union  was  the  submission  of  these 
amendments  to  the  States  in  the  Union  for  ratification 
and  adoption.  North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  hav- 
ing refused  to  secede,  constituted  still  the  old  perpetual 
confederation. 

Number  ten  of  the  amendments  at  that  time  proposed, 
and  ratified  is  in  these  words : 


22  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

' '  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by 
the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are 
reserved  to  the  States  respectively  or  to  the  people." 
The  adoption  of  these  amendments  was  by  most  of  the 
States  made  a  condition  of  their  accession  to  the  new 
Union,  and  without  the  distinct  understanding  and  under- 
taking by  the  friends  of  the  new  compact  that  these 
amendments  should  be  adopted  as  part  thereof,  the  union 
would  not  have  been  formed. 

It  never  entered  the  mind  of  any  sane  man,  that  by 
the  Federal  Constitution  the  States  or  the  people  intended 
to  delegate  to  the  United  States  that  power  of  secession, 
and  of  changing  the  form  of  their  government,  which 
they  had  just  exercised,  and  out  of  and  by  which  the 
United  States  had  been  created.  On  the  contrary,  the 
power  delegated  to  the  United  States  to  alter,  amend  and 
change  the  form  of  government  then  constituted,  was 
distinctly  marked  out  and  designated,  and  the  mode  of 
its  exercise  defined  and  limited.  It  could  only  be 
changed  by  the  United  States,  with  the  concurrence  of 
three-fourths  of  the  States. 

This  wras  the  only  power  of  alteration,  delegated  to 
the  United  States.  All  other  methods  of  alteration  or 
amendment  were  reserved  to  the  States  or  to  the  people 
thereof.  In  the  exercise  of  this  reserved  power,  thirteen 
States  in  1861,  as  eleven  States  had  done  in  1789,  with- 
drew from  the  form  of  government  constituted  by  their 
ancestors,  met  at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  and  taking  the 
constitution  of  1789  as  their  basis,  altered,  amended  and 
improved  it,  so  as  to  provide  for  the  dangers  which  the 


THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.  23 

0 

experience  of  two  generations  had  shown.  The  articles 
of  confederation  of  1778  had  proved  to  be  insufficient  to 
secure  to  the  States  and  the  people,  the  blessing  of  a 
stable  and  just  government.  The  seceding  States  had 
substituted  for  them  a  constitution  under  which  the 
country  had  prospered  and  developed.  But  by  1861  the 
power  of  government  had  been  usurped  by  one  section, 
within  the  letter,  and  in  defiance  of  the  spirit  and  intent 
of  the  law,  and  the  minority,  in  the  exercise  of  those 
rights  by  which  Anglo-Saxon  liberty  had  been  protected 
and  defended  for  a  thousand  years,  withdrew  from  that 
government,  which  was  no  longer  their  government, 
and  established  a  new  Union,  under  an  amended  and 
improved  Constitution,  better  suited  to  the  new  con- 
ditions of  society,  and  better  adapted  to  secure  liberty  to 
their  posterity.  No  man  can  be  found,  even  now,  who 
will  deny  that  the  people  of  each  State  have  the  right  to 
alter  and  amend  and  change  their  own  form  of  govern- 
ment, at  their  own  will. 

And  it  has  got  to  be  the  law  of  heredity  in  the  race, 
Anglo-Saxon,  Norman,  Dane,  Celt  and  Goth,  which 
conquered,  settled  and  pacified  England,  that  each 
generation  is  bound  to  transmit  to  those  who  come  after 

o 

it,  all  the  rights  and  liberties  transmitted  from  free 
ancestors.  Their  is  no  question  of  logic,  or  of  reason, 
or  of  tradition,  or  of  charter,  or  of  written  or  paper  guar- 
antees. We  have  inherited  from  our  ancestors  rights  to 
be  free,  to  be  happy,  to  possess  our  own  homes — our 
wives  and  our  children — without  challenge,  check  or 
molestation.  Every  generation  has  enlarged  their 


24  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

rights,  has  struggled  to  increase  them.  In  this  struggle, 
always  intensifying,  never  ceasing,  never  yielding,  we 
have  invented  the  right  of  habeas  corpus,  to  secure  to 
each  personal  liberty,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury,  to  secure 
to  the  humblest  protection  against  the  most  powerful,  the 
right  of  home,  of  hearth,  and  of  family. 

These  divers  and  constantly-amplifying  fortifications 
of  personal  rights,  have  been  only  the  muniments  of 
rights.  The  form  has  never  been  regarded — the  thing 
is  what  has  been  held  sacred — and  no  matter  in  what 
social  organization  our  race  has  found  itself,  Saxon 
community,  Norman  feudalism,  Roman  paternalism,  the 
right  of  each  man  to  think  for  himself  and  do  for  him- 
self has  been  its  radical  idea;  and  deeply  implanted 
so  far  back  that  its  traditions  give  no  clue  to  its 
beginning  has  been  the  fundamental,  ineradicable, 
unchangeable  law,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  father  to 
transmit  to  his  children  all  the  rights  of  personal  liberty 
which  he  inherited  from  his  ancestors. 

The  bee  builds  its  octagon  cell,  the  ant  constructs  its 
ways  and  its  store-houses.  No  man  can  give  reason  for 
their  acts;  they  work  out  the  law  of  their  being.  And 
the  composite  Aryan  race  centered  in  the  Islands  of  the 
North  Sea,  are  controlled,  dominated,  directed  by  a 
law  as  irresistible  as  ever  guided  and  forced  any  action 
of  animal  or  vegetable  creation.  The  rights  of  liberty 
inherited  from  our  ancestors  must,  by  the  law  of  our 
nature,  be  transmitted  unimpaired  to  our  children. 

Property  rights,  rights  to  personal  consequence  and 
honor,  are  of  secondary  importance,  but  the  right  to 


THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.  25 

free  thought,  free  labor,  free  trade,  for  every  man  to  be 
secure  in  his  right  to  one  wife,  and  their  children,  to  his 
home,  the  product  of  his  own  labor,  or  the 
reward  of  his  labor,  these  rights  must  be  transmitted  to 
his  children,  enlarged  if  possible,  but  certainly  and 
absolutely,  unrestricted  and  unimpaired. 

This  law  of  heredity  in  the  race,  of  duty  to  preserve, 
protect  and  transmit  all  inherited  rights  to  children,  as 
fully  as  acquired  from  ancestors,  is  the  law  that  has 
made  the  race  the  dominating,  directing,  controlling 
force  of  the  whole  world,  in  modern  times,  and  in  modern 
civilization.  Where  people  are  willing  to  give  up  all 
struggle  for  liberty,  to  secure  to  posterity  rights 
inherited  by  ancestors,  when  they  prefer  present  ease 
and  luxury  and  comfort,  to  turmoil  and  contest  for 
right,  then  that  people  are  doomed  to  the  fate  that  has 
overtaken  all  preceding  civilization.  Such  were  not 
the  people  confronted  by  the  duty  of  action  in  1861. 


26  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  III.« 

THE    ARRAY    OF    VIRGINIA. 

many  reasons  the  environment  of  the  early 
history  of  Virginia  was  peculiarly  romantic  and 
picturesque.  When  the  force  of  the  renaissance  begun 
to  be  felt  in  England,  and  the  vitality  of  the  new  learn- 
ing to  be  imparted  to  the  hearts  and  minds  of  English- 
men, when  the  great  changes  wrought  by  Henry  VIII 
had  become  operative,  and  the  ideas  of  the  reformation 
taken  deep  root,  all-pervading  energy,  directed 
thought,  ideas  and  action.  The  imaginations  of  men 
created  realms  from  dreams,  and  stimulated  efforts  from 
aspirations. 

And  this  extraordinary  excitement  possessed  all 
classes  of  society.  The  struggle  of  the  Reformation 
with  the  Papacy,  of  free  thought  with  authority,  pro- 
duced intellectual  and  physical  energy,  never  before 
equalled  in  the  history  of  man. 

The  destruction  of  the  Armada,  made  England  mis- 
tress of  the  seas,  while  the  imagination  of  Shakespeare, 
and  the  intellect  of  Bacon,  gave  her  equal  pre-eminence 
in  the  world  of  thought. 

In  this  prodigious  effort  of  will,  and  mind,  and  body, 
Virginia  was  born.  From  the  first,  she  was  the  Utopia 
of  England  and  Protestantism.  Spain  had  possessed 
all  the  Southern  part  of  the  new  world,  with  its  islands 
and  its  ocean  shores,  and  from  the  Southern  cape  to  the 


THE    ARRAY    OF    VIRGINIA.  2>J 

Northern  sea,  on  the  West.  France  had  seized  the 
larger  part  of  the  North  American  Continent,  from  the 
lakes  to  the  North  Pole.  Virginia  alone,  between  the  two 
great  reactionary  powers,  represented  progress,  liberty 
and  hope. 

Virginia  included  the  Northern  Continent,  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  and  from  the  French  on  the  North  to  the 
Spaniard  on  the  South. 

She  represented  the  cause  of  liberty,  of  free  thought 
and  free  action. 

In  the  first  company  of  Virginia  were  included  all  the 
leading  historic  families  of  the  realm — seventy  peers 
and  one  hundred  knights  and  baronets,  and  all  the 
great  merchants  and  trading  guilds  of  the  kingdom. 
Percy,  of  Northumberland,  sent  his  son  Henry  to 
represent  the  family,  whose  antiquity,  nobility  and 
splendor,  says  the  chronicler,  antidates  the  Norman 
kingdom,  and  which  for  a  thousand  years  had  fur- 
nished soldiers  to  carry  the  flag  of  England  in  battle, 
and  statesmen  to  enlarge  her  authority  and  to  guide  her 
destinies.  Hardly  a  noble  family  in  England  but 
was  represented  in  that  wonderful  array  which  destroyed 
the  Armada;  hardly  a  family  which  had  struck  for 
England  and  free  thought,  under  Lord  Howard,  of 
Effingham,  against  Parma  and  Medina-Sidonia  and 
Guise,  but  was  represented  in  the  settlement  of  Virginia. 

Henry  Percy  was  governor  for  a  time,  and  left  the 
title  of  his  house  to  a  county. 

Virginia  was  "The  Dominion,"  and  constituted  the 
fifth  of  the  dominions  of  the  king,  whose  title  was  King 


28  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

of  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  France  and  Virginia. 
She  bore  on  her  coat  of  arms  and  her  great  seal  the 

proud  motto: 

*'  Virginia  en  dat  quintum," 

for  she  was  the  peer  and  equal  of  either  of  the  other 
four  kingdoms  claimed  by  the  English  crown. 

The  dawn  of  her  histQry  had  been  illustrated  by 
Capt.  John  Smith — soldier,  statesman,  knight  errant — 
who  bore  on  his  shield  three  Turk's  heads,  in  memory 
of  the  three  Turkish  champions  of  the  crescent  he  had 
slain,  in  honor  of  the  cross,  in  open  fight  before  the 
walls  of  Silistria. 

The  country  is  a  parterre  of  souvenirs,  redolent  and 
blooming  with  flowers  of  sentiment  and  romance;  it  is 
a  shrine  of  consecrated  relics. 

Here  at  Powhatan  is  the  very  stone  upon  which 
Smith's  head  lay  when  he  was  saved  by  Pocahontas. 
There  is  Powhatan's  chimney,  sole  relic  of  the  power  of 
the  great  emperor.  Here  is  Bacon's  Castle,  \vhere 
Nathaniel  Bacon  mustered  the  "householders"  of  Vir- 
ginia for  their  first  rebellion  in  defence  of  liberty  and 
home.  There  is  Bloody  Run,  which  perpetuates  the 
bloody  victory  of  the  Virginians  over  the  savage  on  the 
very  edge  of  the  city  of  Richmond.  There  is  the  path 
by  which  Pocahontas  came  to  give  warning  and  save 
the  infant  State  from  extinction.  Boscobel  is  held  by 
the  family  to  whose  ancestor  it  was  granted  by  Charles 
II  for  loyal  service  at  the  Royal  Oak.  Romancoke 
designates  the  spot  of  Claiborne's  victory  over  the 
Indians,  in  consideration  of  which,  the  estate  of  40,000 
acres  was  granted  to  him. 


THE    ARRAY    OF    VIRGINIA.  29 

In  this  family  is  preserved  the  collar  atid  star  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Stanislaus,  once  belonging  to  Lewis  Little- 
page,  Chamberlain  to  the  last  king  of  Poland,  and 
Knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Stanislaus.  In  another  is 

O 

kept  tne  silver  frontlet  presented  by  Charles  II  to  the 
Queen  of  Pamunkey,  and  still  another  holds  the  golden 
horseshoes,  set  with  precious  stones,  given  to  their  ances- 
tors by  Sir  Alexander  Spottswood  as  the  insignium  of  the 
Order  of  Tramontane  Knights,  who  rode  with  him  on 
the  march  over  the  Blue  Mountains.  Here  is  Green- 
spring,  where  Sir  William  Berkley  and  the  Cavaliers 
held  high  feast  during  the  Commonwealth,  when  the 
King  was  over  the  water,  and  where  they  drank  many 
a  full  bumper  of  Virginian  wine,  passing  it  from  left  to 
right  over  a  tumbler  of  pure  water.  There  was  Green- 
way  Court,  where  Lord  Fairfax,  descendant  of  the 
blonde  Saxon  and  of  Black  Tom  Fairfax,  called  to  his 
servant  on  the  news  of  Yorktown,  to  take  him  to  bed  to 
die,  for  it  was  time  now. 

There  is  the  road  called  Braddock's  road,  over  which 
the  British  general,  with  his  Virginian  aid-de-camp, 
marched  to  battle  and  to  death.  There  is  another  road, 
known  to  this  day  as  ''Marquis  road,"  which  Lafayette 
cut  through  the  forests  of  Culpeper  to  close  in  on  Corn- 
wallis  and  the  British.  There  is  the  stone  which  marks 
the  post  of  Arnold's  outside  picket  when  he  sacked,  and 
burnt  Richmond.  At  Rock  Castle  is  the  mark 
of  Tarleton's  sabre  where  he  hacked  off  the  arms 
of  Tarleton,  borne  by  the  Lord  of  the  Manor,  and 
carved  in  the  wood  over  the  chimney  piece.  Theie  live 


3O  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  descendants  of  Taliaferro,  who  rode  by  the  side  of 
William,  carrying  his  banner  at  Hastings,  as  he  chanted 
the  song  of  Roland  and  the  rear  guard,  at  Roncesvalles. 

Alexandria  is  named  for  Sir  William  Alexander, 
descendant  of  a  Norse  viking,  who  conquered  the  isles 
on  the  North  Coast  of  Scotland,  and  whose  descend- 
ants, as  lords  of  the  isles,  reigned  there  for  centuries,  to 
reappear  in  Virginia  and  make  their  mark  there  by 
intellect,  and  force  of  will,  as  their  ancestors  had  done 
with  sword  and  dagger. 

There  was  the  descendant  of  old  Sir  Humphrey  Gil- 
bert, who,  when  his  vessel,  on  his  "way  to  Virginia,  was 
sinking,  his  last  words  were,  "Be  of  good  cheer,  my 
friends,  it  is  as  near  heaven  by  sea,  as  by  land." 

Not  a  neighborhood,  not  a  mountain  peak,  not  a 
ford,  nor  a  ferry,  but  has  always  borne  a  connection 
with  a  romantic  and  sentimental  past. 

Tradition  transmits  legends  of  honor,  of  piety  and  of 
devotion.  From  every  fireside  proceeds  the  light  of 
love,  of  honor,  of  family,  and  of  friends.  The  aroma 
and  the  halo  of  romance  ladens  the  air  and  glows 
around  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

From  these  surroundings,  and  by  their  influences,  a 
well-marked  and  distinct  character  has  been  produced, 
which  seems  to  be  the  most  enduring  and  most  forcible 
as  yet  evolved  by  American  civilization. 

Polybius  has  a  chapter  on  the  characteristics  of  the 
Romans,  who  he  describes  as  a  singular  people,  for, 
says  the  Greek,  "They  actually  believe  that  they  are 
bound  to  keep  their  oaths,  and  do  keep  them."  Such  a 


THE    ARRAY    OF    VIRGINIA.  3! 

waste  of  energy  in  telling  the  truth,  and  keeping  faith, 
was  incomprehensible  to  the  keen,  alert  intellect  of  the 
descendant  of  the  conquerors  of  the  great  king. 

But  the  solid  manliness — the  unreasoning  obedience 
to  duty,  the  devotion  to  truth — the  respect  for  courage 
displayed  by  the  Latin  race  made  the  Romans  the 
conquerors  of  the  world  and  gave  them  pre-eminence 
in  intellectual  force,  and  leaders  of  thought,  in  all  the 
history  of  all  time. 

The  circumstances  surrounding  the  settlement  of 
Virginia — her  progress  as  the  Dominion,  the  individuals 
and  incidents  marking  her  development — have  given  her 
a  concrete  form  and  an  actual  existence  to  her  children. 
The  common  language  of  the  common  people  designates 
her  as  "The  Old  Mother,"  "The  Mother  of  Us  All," 
and  the  Virginian  has  no  hazy,  vague  conception  of 
country;  Virginia  is  to  him  his  Mother,  the  common 
Mother  of  the  noble  brood  of  noble  children. 

Said  old  John  Janney,  of  Loudoun,  Union  man  and 
President  of  the  Convention  of  1861,  when  taxed  with 
taking  sides  with  Virginia  against  the  Union:  "Vir- 
ginia, sir,  was  a  nation  one  hundred  and  eighty  years 
before  your  Union  was  born/'  The  sword  of  Virginia, 
wielded  by  Andrew  Lewis  at  Point  Pleasant  had 
shattered  the  Indian  power  in  the  Northwest,  and  saved 
the  settlements  from  Erie  to  Savannah  from  pillage  and 
massacre.  The  standard  of  Virginia,  borne  by  George 
Rogers  Clarke,  had  acquired  that  great  empire  north 
and  west  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  motto  of  the  Dominion, 
"en  dat  Virginia  quintum"  had  given  way  to  the  war 
cry  of  the  sovereign  States,  "Sic  Semper  Tyrannis" 


32  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Every  honor,  every  distinction,  acquired  by  any 
Virginian,  anywhere,  is  the  right  and  property  of  the 
old  Mother,  and  every  right  of  the  old  Mother  belongs, 
by  equal  right  to  all  her  children.  They  are  the 
Romans  of  modern  history.  They  love  God,  they  tell 
the  truth,  they  honor  manhood,  they  despise  the  false, 
they  scorn  tricks.  They  are  the  English  of  Shakes- 
peare and  Elizabeth,  of  Raleigh  and  of  Drake,  who 
have  made  the  genius  of  England  to  be  known  wher- 
ever thought  lightens  or  imagination  alleviates  human 
lives,  and  who  circled  the  globe  with  the  red  cross  of 
St.  George. 

They  have  changed  less  than  their  brethren  over 
sea,  and  furnish  now  the  highest  types  of  the  character 
which  has  moulded  England,  and  the  closest  family 
resemblance  to  their  ancestors. 

There  has  been  much  derision  and  ridicule  over  the 
First  Families  of  Virginia.  They  have  furnished 
mirth  for  fools  for  three  generations.  But  the  First 
Families  are  facts.  They  are  not  separated  by  wealth. 
They  are  marked  by  character  alone,  and  in  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  fortune,  wherever  they  have  been,  and 
however  called  upon,  they  have  promptly  responded, 
and  shown  themselves  first  in  fact,  to  the  demands  of 
duty. 

Whether  as  merchant  in  Hong  Kong  or  sea  captain 
against  the  Malay  pirates,  as  pioneer  to  California  or 
Australia  or  South  African  mines,  as  financier  on  Wall 
street,  at  the  bar,  in  the  pulpit  or  in  the  professor's  chair, 
the  scion  of  the  First  Families  has  everywhere  always 


THE    ARRAY    OF    VIRGINIA.  33 

vindicated  the  law  of  heredity,  and  given  another  proof 
that  "blood  will  tell;"  and  there  were  no  second 
families.  Every  Virginian  was  as  good  as  any  other 
man,  and  no  other  man  was  as  good  as  any  Virginian 
unless  he  was  brave,  truthful,  honest;  money  never 
equalized  them. 

By  the  assize  of  arms  instituted  by  King  Henry  II, 
whenever  the  royal  standard  was  raised,  the  "array"  of 
all  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  was  bound  to  turn  out 
to  support  the  King's  authority.  Virginia  opposed  the 
war,  begged  for  peace,  called  peace  conference  to  meet 
her  sister  States  arid  avert  war,  and  elected  a  convention 
to  meet  at  Richmond  to  consider  and  decide  upon  what 
ought  to  be  done,  what  the  duty  and  the  honor,  not  the 
prosperity  and  the  profit  of  Virginia,  required  to  be 
done. 

When  the  President  of  the  United  States  called  for 
troops  to  coerce  the  States  who  had  seceded,  Virginia 
raised  her  standard,  called  her  assize  of  arms  and  sum- 
moned her  array  of  her  sons  to  protect  "the  Old  Mother." 
They  came  from  everywhere, — Austin  Smith  from  San. 
Francisco,  Bradfute  Warwick  from  Naples,  Powhatan 
Clark  from  Louisiana,  Robert  Edward  Lee,  Colonel  of 
Dragoons,  son  of  Light-horse  Harry,  of  the  Legion, 
Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston,  son  of  Peter,  Ensign  of  the 
Legion,  Quartermaster  General  of  the  Army  of  the 
United  States,  Jeb.  Stuart,  Hill,  A.  P.  The  very 
earth  trembled  at  the  tramp  of  the  Virginians  as  they 
marched  to  the  assize  of  arms  of  the  mother  of  them  all. 

No  such  picture  can  be  drawn  of  any  event  in  history ; 


34  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

no  such  incident  can  be  described.  Webster  said  of  old 
England  that,  "her  morning  drum  beat,  following  tiie 
sun,  circles  the  world  with  the  martial  airs  of  England." 
But  when  Virginia  flung  her  standard  to  the  breeze 
with  her  proud  motto,  "Sic  Semper  Tyrannis"  and  sum- 
moned her  array,  the  earth  blazed  with  the  fiery  cross  of 
V>ginia  as  they  rushed  to  her  defence.  From  every 
continent,  from  every  clime,  from  all  avocations,  from 
the  bar,  the  pulpit,  the  counting  room,  the  work-shop, 
the  Virginians  came. 

"Their's  not  to  reason  why, 
Their's  but  to  do  and  dia." 

When  the  Sea  Venture,  after  the  romantic  shipwreck 
at  the  Summer  Isles,  which  gave  Shakespeare  the  inci- 
dent and  the  locality  for  the  Tempest,  was  about  to  loose 
her  gallant  commander,  old  Sir  George  Somers,  when 
he  gave  up  his  manly  spirit,  he  called  his  crew  about 
him  and  "exhorted  them  to  be  true  to  duty  and  return  to 
Virginia." 

The  words  of  the  old  knight  rang  like  a  trumpet  call 
wherever  there  was  a  Virginian,  "Be  true  to  duty 
and  return  to  Virginia."  Those  who  failed  to  obey  that 
call,  for  there  were  a  few,  a  very  few,  who  did  fail,  by 
their  subsequent  lives,  did  not  furnish  bright  examples  of 
renown,  success  or  happiness,  to  encourage  others  in 
future  crises  to  follow  their  example. 

It  is  due  to  candor  to  say  that  neither  Lee  nor  John- 
ston approved  the  action  of  the  other  States,  for  they 
knew  that  such  action  would  inevitably  bring  on  war, 
and  they  knew  what  war  meant,  but  there  is  no  reason 


THE    ARRAY    OF    VIRGINIA.  35 

to  think  that  either  of  them  for  a  moment  believed  that 
Virginia  could,  would  or  ought  to  act,  except  just 
exactly  as  she  did  act.  With  them,  as  with  all  other 
Virginians,  the  simple  question  was:  ''With  or  against 
blood  and  kin?  For  or  against  the  old  mother?  "  and 
the  question  answered  itself  in  the  asking. 


36  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


T 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    l86l    IN    VIRGINIA. 

HE  Virginia  convention,  on  the  lyth  of  April, 
adopted  an  ordinance,  repealing  the  act  by  which, 
in  1787,  she  had  accepted  the  Constitution  made  at  Phil- 
adelphia, and  provided  for  accepting  the  Constitution  as 
amended  and  accepted  by  the  States  at  Montgomery  ; 
the  ordinance  to  be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people 
on  the  24th  of  May.  The  secret  was  at  once  pro- 
claimed all  over  the  land,  and  on  April  ipth,  a  Massa- 
chusetts regiment  passing  through  Baltimore  in  response 
to  President  Lincoln's  proclamation  to  defend  the  capital, 
was  attacked  in  the  streets  by  a  mob  and  badly 
demoralized. 

The  Virginians  promptly  took  possession  of  Harper's 
Ferry,  where  there  was  a  depot  of  arms,  and  were 
about  to  seize  Fortress  Monroe,  but  lost  their  opportunity 
through  vacillating  counsels  of  a  State  administration, 
faithful  and  zealous,  but  inexperienced  in  war. 

Brigadier-General  Johnston  sent  in  his  resignation  to 
the  Secretary  of  War  of  the  United  States  on  Saturday, 
April  20th,  and  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Secre- 
tary April  22,  with  the  request  that  the  proper  order 
accepting  it  be  promptly  issued.  This  was  done,  .and 
on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  with  only  his  personal  arms 
and  clothing,  he  left  Washington  for  Richmond. 


THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    l86l    IN    VIRGINIA.  37 

His  house,  and  all  property  of  every  kind  belonging 
to  himself  and  his  wife,  was  left  behind. 

Owing  to  an  accident  to  the  train,  he  did  not  reach 

c?  ,  * 

Richmond  until  the  next  day,  when  he  at  once  reported 
to  John  Letcher,  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  was  by  him 
forthwith  commissioned  as  a  Major-General  in  the  ser- 
vice of  his  State.  Lee  had  the  day  before  been  placed 
in  command  of  all  the  armies  of  Virginia,  with  the  same 
rank. 

Gen.  Lee  assigned  to  Gen.  Johnston  the  duty  of 
organizing  and  instructing  the  volunteers,  then  rallying 
to  the  standard  from  all  quarters  of  the  State,  the  Union, 

and  the  globe. 

* 
The  points  to  be  occupied  in  force  for  the  defence  pf 

Virginia  were  designated  as  Norfolk,  Yorktown,  a  point 
on  the  lower  Potomac  in  front  of  Fredericksburg, 
Manassas  Junction,  Harper's  Ferry  and  Grafton. 

This  it  was  supposed  would  make  a  defensive  line 
where  each  place  could  support  the  other,  and  which 
would  protect  the  State  from  invasion  and  save  her  peo- 
ple from  the  horrors  of  war. 

In  two  weeks  Virginia  acceded  to  the  Confederacy, 
and  Gen.  Johnston,  his  place  of  Major-General  having 
been  abolished,  accepted  the  commission  of  Brigadier- 
General  in  the  Army  of  the  Confederate  States. 

The  United  States  by  that  time  had  three  armies 
threatening  Virginia  :  one  at  Washington  under  Gen. 
McDowell,  one  at  Chambersburg  under  Gen.  Pattersonj 
and  one  in  West  Virginia  under  Gen.  McClellan.  It 
was  supposed,  and  indeed  generally  given  out,  by  those 


3&        LIFE  OF  GEN.  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON. 

omniscient  .strategists,  the  newspapers,  that  Patterson 
and  McClellan  were  to  unite  at  Winchester,  capture  the 
Confederates  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  then  march  over 
the  Blue  Ridge  passes,  so  as  to  attack  Manassas  Junction 
in  flank,  while  McDowell  closed  in  in  front,  and 
thus  the  way  would  be  open  for  the  "on  to  Richmond" 
move  so  vociferously  called  for  and  confidently  expected. 
•  The  military  authorities  of  the  Confederacy  and  of 
Virginia  were  under  the  most  extraordinary  delusion  as 
to  the  value  of  Harper's  Ferry.  It  is  the  point  where 
the  Shenandoah  joins  the  Potomac,  and  their  united 
flood  forces  its  way  through  the  Blue  Ridge.  It  is  a 
mountain  pass,  absolutely^  impregnable  if  the  enemy 
will  only  attack  at  either  end.  But  as  a  fortress  to  cover 
a  line,  or  a  fortified  camp  for  a  military  depot,  it  is  use- 
less and  indefensible. 

Good  roads  cross  the  Potomac  at  every  point  north 
and  northwest  of  k.  A  bridge  led  the  way  into  Vir- 
ginia at  the  Point  of  Rocks,  and  practicable  fords 
existed  all  along  the  Potomac,  south  and  southeast  of  it. 

Instead  of  being  a  Thermopylae  it  was  a  trap,  as  was 
proved  in  1862,  when  it  fell  after  a  twenty-four  hours' 
defence  before  Lee,  coming  from  the  northern  side. 
Lee,  in  1862,  forded  the  Potomac  below  Harper's 
Ferry,  and  in  1863  above  the  point,  as  Early  did  in 
1864.  Ten  regiments  of  infantry,  a  four-gun  battery 
and  a  regiment  of  cavalry  were  collected  there,  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  May,  Gen.  Johnston  was  sent  to 
command  it.  His  orders  were  impressive  as  to  the 
value  of  the  position,  as  the  key  to  the  valley,  and  the 
commanding  position  to  protect  Virginia  from  invasion. 


THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    l86l     IN    VIRGINIA.  39 

He  reached  Harper's  Ferry  on  the  afternoon  of  May 
23,  and  after  a  careful  examination  and  report  by  Maj. 
W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  as  engineer,  on  25th  he  reported 
to  Gen.  Lee  that  the  place  was  untenable,  and  ought  to 
be  evacuated  without  delay.  He  showed  that  the  force 
under  his  command  ought  to  be  a  moveable  column, 
and  not  tied  by  the  leg  to  a  stake ;  that  the  true  defence 
of  the  valley  and  the  northern  frontier  of  Virginia  could 
be  best  made  by  an  army  in  the  field,  and  not  by 
fortified  positions. 

And  here  began  the  difference  of  opinion,  and  diver- 
gence of  views,  between  Gen.  Johnston  and  President 
Davis  as  to  the  strategy  of  the  war,  and  the  policy 
which  ought  to  be  pursued  to  secure  peace  and  inde- 
pendence. 

There  was  not  an  exact  agreement  between  them  as 
to  existing  conditions.  Johnston  believed  that  the 
resources  of  the  North  were  inexhaustible.  In  arts  and 
in  arms,  in  men  and  in  money,  they  could  command  the 
world. 

While  the  blood  of  the  North  had  been  modified  and 
diluted  by  the  emigration  and  changed  conditions  of  the 
preceding  ninety  years,  still  the  dominating  ideas,  the 
heriditary  instincts,  the  physical  characteristics  of  the 
North,  men  and  women,  were  in  the  main  the  same  as 
those  that  had  achieved  their  independence  in  the 
rebellion  of  1775-81,  that  had  constructed  and  operated 
the  Constitution  of  1787. 

They  were  a  brave,  self-reliant,  patriotic  race,  and 
while  they  did  not  have  probably  the  same  individuality 


40  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

as  the  Southern  people,  in  all  the  characteristics  of 
manliness — perseverance,  fortitude,  courage — they  were 
the  equals  of  any  race  that  ever  lived. 

The  South,  in  Gen.  Johnston's  opinion,  started  out 
with  fixed  and  definite  resources.  She  had  a  certain 
balance  in  bank,  and  when  that  was  exhausted  there 
was  no  source  from  which  it  could  be  replenished. 

She  had  a  frontier  extending  from  the  Chesapeake  to 
the  Western  line  of  Missouri  to  protect  against  the 
invasion  of  an  enemy  innumerable  in  numbers,  inex- 
haustible in  resources,  untiring  in  energy,  unflagging  in 
courage.  The  number  of  men  she  could  put  into  the 
field  was  fixed  and  certain;  beyond  that  limit  it  was 
arithmetically  impossible  to  go. 

The  North  started  with  the  difference  of  six  to  one 
against  the  South.  As  time  went  on  and  the  waste  of 
war  was  replenished  on  the  one  side  and  unrepaired  on  the 
other,  that  discrepancy  was  of  necessity  to  be  increased. 

No  mathematical  proposition  could  be  clearer  than 
that,  if  the  war  was  to  be  a  trial  of  endurance,  a  strug- 
gle of  numbers — that  six  must  prevail  against  one,  when 
six  was  to  be  increased  to  twelve  and  one  to  diminish  in 
value.  But  in  war,  courage,  genius,  skill,  audacity, 
sometimes  compensates  for  discrepancies  in  force. 
Momentum  is  made  of  weight  and  velocity,  and  the 
lighter  weight  may  have  the  greater  momentum.  At 
this  early  stage  of  the  struggle,  Gen.  Johnston  sought  to 
impress  his  views  on  the  Confederate  authorities  that  the 
policy  of  defending  posts,  positions,  lines  and  ports  was 
untenable  and  could  only  lead  to  certain  and  irretrieva- 
ble disaster. 


THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    1861^  IN    VIRGINIA.  4! 

The  fortification  of  positions,  the  marking  out  of 
lines  of  defense,  gave  the  whole  initiative  of  war  to  the 
antagonist.  He  was  left  at  liberty  to  select  the  time, 
place  and  opportunity  for  attack,  and  to  make  the  cam- 
paign on  conditions  of  his  selection. 

Thus,  with  Johnston  tied  fast  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
Beaureeard  at  Manassas,  Patterson  and  McClellan 

o  ' 

could  have  combined  at  Winchester,  corked  Johnston 
up  at  Harper's  Ferry,  while  with  McDowell  they  could 
have  swept  the  way  to  Richmond  clear  at  Manassas. 

The  same  criticism  applies  to  Gen.  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston's  position  at  Rowling  Green,  Kentucky. 

President  Davis  did  not  agree  with  this  view  as  to 
policy  or  strategy. 

He  was  a  trained  soldier  of  long  and  wide  experience. 
He  had  commanded  Southern  volunteers  at  Buena  Vista, 
and  he  held  a  large  and  enthusiastic  view  of  the 
capability  of  volunteers,  especially  of  Southern  men, 
inured  to  arms  and  accustomed  to  command  a  subordi- 
nate and  inferior  race. 

He  did  not  minimize  the  vigor  and  duration  of  the 
war,  for  from  the  first,  while  deploring  the  fact,  he 
insisted  that  war  must  result  from  the  attempt  of  the 
Southern  States  to  amend  and  reform  the  Constitution 
of  1787,  and  that  that  war  would  be  long,  bloody  and 
exhausting. 

But  President  Davis  though  a  soldier  was  an  agricul- 
tural man ;  he  did  not  fully  estimate  the  enormous  force 
and  machine  created  by  modern  society,  whereby  one 
generation,  or  one  country,  can  mortgage  the  future  to 


42  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  rest  of  mankind  for  the  supreme  present.  He 
believed  that  the  supply  of  cotton  was  so  necessary  to 
modern  commerce  that  the  South,  which  controlled  that 
supply,  could  dictate  terms  and  require  support  from 
nations,  whose  industries  were  dependent  on  her  agri- 
culture. 

He  believed  that  with  the  strain  on  the  credit  of  the 
North,  its  currency  would  depreciate,  its  expenses 
would  increase,  until,  at  last,  its  finances  would  break 
down,  and  that  it  would  not  be  able  to  raise  a  dollar  or 
a  man.  Wait,  said  he,  until  gold  touches  250,  and  the 
great  monied  interests,  which  are  behind  this  war,  will 
cry  for  peace  to  save  what  they  have  left. 

He  did  not  appreciate,  as  none,  did,  that  the  bond- 
holders and  contractors  had  got  into  the  position  that 
success  only  could  save  them  from  ruin,  and  they  were 
forced  by  necessity  to  stake  everything  on  success. 

This  divergence  of  view  between  the  Confederate 
authorities  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  war  kept  on 
widening,  mutual  confidence  was  absent,  and  the  con- 
sequences to  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy  were  prodi- 
gious and  fraught  with  overwhelming  evil. 

It  would  seem  to  have  been  unavoidable.  Mr.  Davis 
and  Gen.  Johnston  were  both  men  of  very  positive 
character;  both  were  soldiers  of  experience;  both  had 
thought  over  the  problems  of  this  war  which  they  both 
deplored  and  both  saw  was  inevitable,  and  when,  there- 
fore, they  arrived  at  different  conclusions  on  funda- 
mental principles,  it  is  not  reasonable  to  expect  either  to 
yield.  It  was  Johnston's  duty  to  have  given  obedience, 


THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    l86l    IN    VIRGINIA.  43 

prompt  and  ready.  This  he  did.  But  he  never  changed 
the  convictions  of  his  mind  as  to  the  proper  strategy  for 
the  struggle. 

This  is  an  unfortunate  position  for  a  soldier  to  occupy 
toward  his  superior.  In  the  profession  of  arms,  mind 
and  muscle,  body,  heart  and  soul  must  always  go 
together,  and  he  who  criticizes  his  commanding  officer 
will  impair  his  own  efficiency,  even  though  ever  so 
zealous  to  contribute  to  the  success  of  the  common 
cause,  the  glory  of  one's  country. 

Gen.  Beauregard  had  taken  command  at  Manassas 
about  a  week  after  Gen.  Johnston  had  assumed  charge 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  by  correspondence  and  staff 
officers  a  perfect  understanding  was  arrived  at,  that  the 
first  one  attacked  should  be  supported  by  the  other. 

But  Harper's  Ferry  was  the  place  to  be  supported  not 
to  give  support.  It  was  an  exposed  point  on  the  frontier, 
with  its  communications,  and  its  base  of  supplies  liable 
to  be  cut  off  on  either  side  at  any  time. 

On  the  loth  of  June,  Patterson  advanced  from  Cham- 
bersburg  to  Hagerstown  with  eighteen  thousand  men. 
Hagerstown  is  six  miles  from  the  Potomac  at  Williams- 
port,  and  once  across  the  river,  Patterson  would  be  as 
near  Winchester  as  Johnston  at  Harper's  Ferry. 

At  the  same  time  came  news  that  McClellan's  ad- 
vance had  reached  Romney.  Romney  is  forty-three 
miles  from  Winchester,  while  Williamsport  and  Harper's 
Ferry  are  each  about  thirty  miles  from  that  point ;  a-half 
a  day's  march  then  by  Patterson  and  McClellan  would 
ensure  their  junction  at  Winchester  and  close  Johnston 
in  at  Harper's  Ferry. 


44  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSKl'I!     I-:.   JOHNSTON. 

On  the  I5th,  the  baggage  and  stores  of  the  troops 
had  been  sent  ahead.  Almost  every  soldier  had  a 
trunk,  many  of  them  Saratoga  trunks.  The  Confed- 
erates left  Harper's  Ferry  and  marched  three  miles 
beyond  Charlestown,  where  they  bivouacked  for  the 
night  at  Turner's  Spring. 

The  next  morning,  information  having  been  received 
that  Patterson  had  crossed  the  Potomac  and  was  advan- 
cing along  the  valley  pike  south  of  Martinsburg, 
Johnston  moved  across  the  country  and  took  position  at 
Bunker  Hill  to  intercept  him. 

Immediately  on  receipt  of  the  movement  of  McClellan, 
Col.  A.  P.  Hill  of  Thirteenth  Virginia,  with  Col.  Gibbon, 
Tenth  Virginia,  and  Col.  Vaughan,  Third  Tennessee, 
had  been  sent  to  Romney  to  hinder,  delay  or  prevent 
further  move  from  that  direction. 

All  day  of  June  i7th  the  Confederates  waited  Patter- 
son at  Bunker  Hill,  in  "high  spirits  of  another  i7th  of 
June  at  another  Bunker  Hill. 

But  Patterson  recrossed  the  river,  not  on  account  of 
Johnston's  demonstration,  but  because  some  of  his  best 
troops  had  been  taken  from  him. 

Gen.  Johnston  then  proceeded  to  Winchester,  where 
he  took  position  on  the  valley  ,pike  three  miles  north  of 
the  town,  and  was  soon  rejoined  by  Hill,  who  had 
burned  the  bridge  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  at 
New  Creek  and  captured  two  guns  and  a  set  of  colors, 
by  the  hands  of  Vaughan  and  the  Third  Tennessee.  At 
Winchester  the  army  was  reinforced  and  reorganized. 

Jackson's    brigade,    of    Second,    Fourth,    Fifth    and 


THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    l86"I     IN    VIRGINIA.  45 

Twenty-Seventh  Virginia  regiments,  and  Pendleton's 
battery.  Bee's,  of  Second  and  Eleventh  Mississippi, 
Fourth  Alabama  and  Second  Tennessee,  and  Imboden's 
battery.  Elzey's,  of  the  Tenth  and  Thirteenth  Virginia, 
Third  Tennessee  and  First  Maryland,  Elzey  being 
colonel  of  First  Maryland  and  senior  colonel  of  the 
brigade  and  Groves' battery.  *And  Bartow's,  of  Seventh, 
Eighth  and  Ninth  Georgia  regiments,  First  Kentucky 
and  Alburtis'  battery.  Subsequently  the  Thirty-third 
Virginia  was  added  to  Jackson's  brigade,  the  Sixth 
North  Carolina  to  Bee's,  and  the  Eleventh  Georgia  to 
Bartow's. 

A  fifth  brigade  was  formed  for  Brigadier-General  E. 
Kirby  Smith,  of  the  Nineteenth  Mississippi,  Eighth, 
Ninth,  Tenth  and  Eleventh  Alabama  and  Stanard's 
battery. 

This  force  was  known  as  the  Army  of  the  Shenan- 
doah. 

The  twenty-five  regiments  named  were  reduced  by 
mumps,  measles  and  camp  diseases,  so  that  they  aver- 
aged about  five  hundred  effective  men. 


46  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    FIRST    MANASSAS. 

ON  the  i8th  of  July,  1861,  the  army  of  the  Shenan- 
cloah  was  reposing  in  its  camps  in  the  beautiful 
fields  on  the  valley  pike  north  of  Winchester;  morning 
drill  was  over  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to 
get  dinner,  and  smoke  and  sleep  until  the  drums  beat  for 
afternoon  drill.  The  men  were  busy  over  their  skillets 
and  "spiders"  at  innumerable  fires  along  the  lines,  and 
the  smell  of  savory  cookery  scented  the  air.  In  an 
instant  a  thrill  pervaded  everything.  Not  a  word  had 
been  said;  not  a  trumpet  sounded;  not  a  drum  beat,  but 
every  one  felt  that  something  had  happened.  The 
Generals  straightened  up ;  the  Colonels  drew  up  their 
sword  belts;  the  line  officers  kicked  their  legs  and  fell 
into  groups,  all  in  silent  expectation. 

Within  three  minutes  orderlies  from  brigade  head- 
quarters stride  up  to  regimental  headquarters.  The 
adjutants  fly  out,  and  in  a  moment  the  air  throbs  with 
the  drum  beat  of  the  assembly.  One  all-pervading 
cheer;  one  thrilling  yell  in  an  anstant  pervaded  that 
whole  army,  and  in  an  hour  tents  were  struck,  wagons 
packed  and  the  brigades  in  column,  their  right  resting 
on  the  road,  ready  for  the  word. 

Down  the  dusty  pike  in  the  hot  July  afternoon ;  down 
the  streets  of  gallant  Winchester;  sweethearts  and 
wives  waving  encouragement  and  courage  from  every 


THE    BATTLE    OF    FIRST    MANASSAS.  47 

window.  Not  an  order  had  given  notice,  not  a  word 
had  been  said,  but  every  one  knew  that  Beauregard 
had  been  attacked,  and  that  they  were  marching  to  the 
firing. 

When  the  army  had  become  stretched  out  along  the 
road  so  as  to  be  clear  of  the  town,  the  column  was 
halted  and  an  order  read  at  the  head  of  each  regiment 
from  Gen.  Johnston,  informing  them  that  the  battle  had 
opened  that  day  at  Manassas,  and  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  every  man  to  "step  out,"  so  as  to  be  there  in  time  to 
share  in  the  danger  and  the  glory  of  the  first  Confed- 
erate victory. 

But  alas  for  enthusiasm  and  sentiment.  Th,e  human 
machine  has  its  limitations;  some  things  it  can  do,  and 
some  things  it  cannot.  Green  men  fresh  from  city 
pavements  or  country  fields  have  tender  feet,  and  tender 
feet  become  blistered,  and  men  with  blistered  feet  can't 
walk,  no  matter  how  hot  the  heart  is,  no  matter  how 
high  the  spirit  is,  when  feet  are  one  solid  blister  from 
tip  of  toe  to  end  of  heel,  the  most  ardent  patriot,  the 
most  chivalric  knight  will  limp  and  halt  and  lay  down 
in  the  road  side. 

The  plan  of  the  Generals  was  for  Johnston  to  march 
from  Winchester  and  strike  McDowell  on  his  flank  as 
he  moved  against  Beauregard.*  The  fact  of  the 
soldiers  was,  that  their  feet  got  sore  after  the  first  hour's 
march,  and  they  couldn't  get  to  Manassas  in  time  to 
keep  McDowell  from  routing  Beauregard. 

*General  Johnston  did  not  accept  this  plan  of  Beauregard.  He  thought  the 
attempt  of  two  converging  armies  of  volunteers  to  attack  involved  too  much  risk, 
and  he  rejected  its  proficiency  to  concentrate  his  force  before  going  to  battle. 


48  J.IFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Gen.  Johnston  had  never  seen  volunteers  march. 
He  had  marched  with  regulars  from  Vera-Cruz  to  the 
City  of  Mexico,  and  he  had  seen  them  start  at  a  certain 
minute  in  the  morning,  halt  at  a  certain  minute  for  rest, 
resume  the  march  and  go  into  camp  with  the  regularity 
of  clock  work. 

But  the  volunteer  had  no  idea  of  regularity.  If  there 
was  a  small  stream  across  the  road  he  would  lay  a 
fence  rail  over  it  and  cross  with  great  care,  followed  by 
ten  thousand  men  after  him.  Each  man  would  lose  a 
minute,  so  that  the  last  man  would  be  hours  behind  the 
place  he  ought  to  have  been  in. 

Jackson's  brigade,  afterward  the  Stonewall,  famed  in 
song  and  story,  led  and  actually  marched  seventeen 
miles  that  day.  The  rest  of  the  command  only  covered 
thirteen  miles  and  went  into  camp. 

It  was  now  the  night  of  the  i8th,  and  Johnston  was 
informed  by  Beauregard  that  the  whole  of  McDowell's 
army  was  before  him,  and  would  attack  on  the  ipth. 

To  march  to  Manassas  with  volunteers  was  plainly 
impracticable.  So  the  head  of  the  column  was  directed 
to  the  nearest  railroad  point,  Piedmont,  on  the  Manassas 
Gap  Railroad,  thirty  miles  from  Manassas  Junction. 

Here  Jackson  and  his  Stonewall  brigade  was  dis- 
patched forthwith,  and  arrived  at  Manassas  during  the 
ipth. 

Gen.  Johnston  and  Gen.  Bee,  with  the  Fourth  Ala- 
bama and  Second  Mississippi,  and  two  companies  of  the 
Eleventh  Mississippi,  reached  Manassas  during  the 
afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  2Oth  of  July. 


THE    BATTLE    OF    FIRST    MANASSAS.  49 

Gen.  Johnston  had  been  appointed  a  General  in  the 
Army  of  the  Confederate  States  to  rank  from  July  4, 
1861.  But  the  promotion  had  not  been  published  in 

• 

orders,  and  he  had  not  been  notified  of  it.  Gen.  Beau- 
regard  was  a  Brigadier-General,  but  in  order  to  remove 
all  doubt  in  every  one's  mind,  Gen.  Johnston,  while  en 
route,  telegraphed  the  President  to  know  what  would  be 
the  relative  positions  of  Gen.  Beauregard  and  himself 
when  their  commands  were  united.  To  this  the  Presi- 
dent replied: 

RICHMOND,  July  20,  1861. 
GENERAL  J.  E.  JOHNSTON, 

Manassas  Junction,  Virginia: 

You  are  a  general  in  the  Confederate  army, 
possessed  of  all  the  power  attached  to  that  rank.  You 
will  know  how  to  make  the  exact  knowledge  of  Briga- 
dier-General Beauregard,  as  well  of  the  ground  as  of 
the  troops  and  preparation,  avail  for  the  success  of  the 
object  in  which  you  co-operate.  The  zeal  of  both 
assures  me  of  harmonious  action. 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

Johnston  reached  Beauregard  about  noon  of  the  2Oth. 
He  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  their  united  forces 
ought  to  attack  McDowell,  for  it  was  reasonable  to 
expect  that  Patterson  would  not  be  over  twenty-four 
hours  behind  Johnston,  and  they  ought  to  beat 
McDowell  before  Patterson  got  up. 

Beauregard  at  once  assented  to  this  suggestion,  and 
submitted  a  map  and  order  of  march  by  which  his  com- 
mand could  be  moved  upon  Centreville,  McDowell's  left. 

He  had  chosen  Bull  Run  as  his  defensive  line,  which 
was  approved  by  Gen.  Johnston. 


5O  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 

Johnston  directed  copies  to  be  made  of  the  order  of 
march  in  the  attack  to  be  made  on  Centreville,  so  as  to 
be  signed  by  himself  and  distributed  to  commanding 
officers.  These  copies  were  not  completed  until  the 
morning  of  the  2ist,  and  then  turned  out  to  be  phrazed 
"By  command  of  General  Beauregard.  Thomas  Jordan, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General." 

Now,  General  Beauregard  was  a  Brigadier-General 
and  not  a  General,  and  the  order  ought  to  have  been — 
by  command  of  General  Johnston,  the  ranking  officer, 
who  had  no  right  to  shirk  his  duty  nor  his  responsibility 
for  the  conduct  and  operations  of  the  two  armies  then 
consolidated  for  the  battle.  Gen.  Johnston  endorsed 
these  orders  in  these  words  : 

SPECIAL  ORDERS  No.  } 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC,  f 
The  plan  of  attack  given  by  Brigadier-General  Beau- 
regard  in  the  above  order  is  approved  and  will  be  exe- 
cuted accordingly.  J.  E.  JOHNSTON, 

General  C.  S.  A. 

The  military  office  creates  and  imposes  certain  duties, 
authorities  and  responsibilities  as  appurtenant  to  and 
inseparable  from  each  rank  in  the  service.  The  rank- 
ing officer  is  bound  to  command.  He  may  direct  his 
subordinate  to  take  charge  of  one  operation  or  all  opera- 
tions on  the  field.  He  may  put  him  in  charge  of  a 
corps,  a  division,  or  a  brigade,  but  he  cannot  thereby  es- 
cape the  responsibility  of  his  authority.  He  is  in  command ; 
he  is  responsible;  all  acts  done  are  his  acts;  all  orders 
given  are  his  orders.  The  form  of  papers  issued  and 
sent  out  to  troops  does  not  affect  the  substantial  thing — 


THE    BATTLE    OF    FIRST    MANASSAS.  51 

who  is  in  command  ?  Who  has  the  rank  which  makes 
him  responsible  and  makes  it  his  duty  to  bear  the 
responsibility,  and  not  to  attempt  to  shift  it  to  sub- 
ordinates. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  and  as  a  matter  of  military  law, 
the  General  on  the  field  must  command  the  Brigadier- 
General.  And  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  moment  Gen. 
Johnston  arrived  at  Gen.  Beauregard's  headquarters, 
his  rank  placed  him  in  command  and  made  him  respon- 
sible for  the  whole  conduct  of  operations. 

Gen.  Beauregard  was  a  soldier  of  experience  and 
genius,  an  old  comrade  of  Mexican  campaigns,  and 
Gen.  Johnston  accepted  his  arrangements  at  once,  and 
ordered  them  carried  out. 

General  Johnston  says:  "As  we  were  riding  forward, 
General  Beauregard  suggested  to  me  that  I  assign  to 
him  the  immediate  command  of  the  troops  engaged,  so 
that  my  supervision  of  the  whole  field  might  not  be 
interrupted.  So  he  commanded  the  troops  under  me, 
as  elsewhere  lieutenant-general  commanded  corps  and 
major-general  commanded  a  division  under  me." 
General  Beauregard  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  soldiers 
that  war  has  ever  produced. 

His  individuality,  his  personality,  his  aash  at  Manas- 
sas  were  beyond  estimation.  When  the  lines  were 
falling  back  before  the  overwhelming  Federal  onset, 
he  seized  the  colors  of  the  Fourth  Alabama  and  rode 
out  in  front  and  rallied  the  retreat  and  re-established 
the  line. 

His  personal  gallantry  saved  the  battle  and  gained 
the  victory  more  than  any  one  incident  of  the  day. 


52  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    ]•:.   JOHNSTON. 

But  Johnston  was  the  superintending  providence.  At 
his  place  as  general  commanding,  he  issued  the  orders 
and  moved  the  troops  and  directed  the  blows  which 
produced  the  great  result.  It  is  unfortunate  and  fruitless 
that  any  discussion  should  ever  have  arisen  between 
friends,  comrades  in  arms,  great  soldiers,  as  to  which 
one  won  the  glory  of  the  victory — there  was  enough 
for  both. 

But  before  any  move  could  be  made  effective  on  the 
Confederate  right  to  attack  McDowell,  it  became  evident 
that  the  Federal  General  had  disarranged  the  best  laid 
plans  by  himself  taking  the  initiative  and  turning  the 
Confederate  left.  He  crossed  Bull  Run  at  Sudley  ford, 
some  distance  above  the  Confederate  left,  and  moving  the 
head  of  his  column  straight  from  the  ford,  faced  to  the 
left,  and  marched  direct  on  the  left  flank  of  the  Con- 
federates. This  was  not  the  battle  as  arranged  at  all ; 
indeed,  it  was  directly  and  perversely  contrary  to  the 
preconcieved  plan. 

The  Confederates  ought  to  have  turned  McDowell's 
left  and  cut  him  off  from  Washington.  McDowell  was 
in  fact  turning,  had  turned,  the  Confederate  left  and  was 
marching  to  cut  them  off  from  Richmond. 

Bee,  Bartow  and  Jackson  from  the  Army  of  the  Shen- 
andoah  were  formed  "a  stonewall,"  right  across  the 
line  of  advance  and  held  back  the  victorious  lines. 

Bonham,  Holmes,  Early  and  Ewell  of  Beauregard's 
Army  of  the  Potomac  were  hurried  from  the  right  to  re- 
inforce the  thin  line  of  the  Stonewall  Bartow  had  fal- 
len, Bee  had  gone  down,  Johnson  of  Hampton's  Legion 


THE    BATTLE    OF    FIRST    MANASSAS.  53 

was  dead,  Hampton  of  the  Lion  Heart  was  badly 
wounded,  and  the  future  of  the  Confederate  arms  was 
in  desperate  straits,  when  far  to  the  left  came  the 
whistle  of  the  locomotive. 

The  train  stopped  where  the  Manassas  Gap  rail 
branches  from  theVirginia  Midland,  then  Orange  &  Alex- 
andria Railroad.  It  held  Elzey's  brigade,  First  Maryland, 
Tenth  and  Thirteenth  Virginia,  Third  Tennessee.  The 
booming  of  heavy  guns  could  be  heard  way  off  toward 
the  rising  sun.  Elzey  got  his  troops  out  promptly,  and 
was  forming  his  regiments  in  the  road,  by  the  side  of  the 
railroad,  piling  their  knapsacks  in  charge  of  a  guard — 
when  Kirby  Smith  dashed  up  in  a  strain,  "The  watch- 
word is  Sumpter,"  he  said.  "  The  signal  is  this,"  throw- 
ing his  hand  over  his  foreheacl,  palm  outward,  "  forward, 
to  the  sound  of  the  firing."  Elzey's  brigade  was  one 
of  two  which  had  been  assigned  to  Kirby  Smith  as  a 
division,  and  the  latter  assumed  command  as  soon  as  it 
got  within  his  reach. 

The  brigade  moved  through  Manassas  and  out  towards 
Young's  branch,  bearing  to  the  left.  Passing  Cash  and 
Kershaw's  South  Carolina  regiments,  it  was  led  by 
Smith  toward  the  left  of  the  whole  Confederate  line,  and 
Smith,  having  been  shot  from  his  horse,  Elzey  resumed 
control  and  directed  himself  still  to  the  left.  At  length 
he  struck  the  extreme  left  of  the  Federal  line,  crushed 
it  like  an  eggshell,  and  the  battle  of  First  Manassas  was 
won. 

The  troops,  tired  by  their  quick  march  of  five  miles, 
were  utterly  exhausted,  and  laid  down  by  some  captured 


54  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

guns  of  Griffin's  and  Rickett's  batteries.  A  half  a 
dozen  horsemen  came  rattling  down  the  line,  and  the 
cheers  which  followed  them,  roused  the  men.  When 
the  word  passed,  "It's  Jeff  Davis,  Johnston  and  Beau- 
regard,"  a  wounded  boy  raised  himself  on  one  elbow, 
took  off  his  cap  with  one  hand,  swung  it  over  his  head — 
"Hurrah  for  Jeff  Davis,"  he  cried,  and  fell  back  dead. 
It  was  literally  his  last  breath. 

Elzey's  brigade  was  at  once  moved  over  the  stone 
bridge  and  for  three  miles  toward  Centreville,  when 
about  sundown  it  was  ordered  back  and  bivouacked  on 
the  east  bank  of  Bull  Run. 

The  men  had  been  on  their  feet  since  twelve  o'clock 
midnight  of  July  20-21,  and  had  not  had  a  mouthful 
during  that  eighteen  hours  of  march,  battle  and  excite- 
ment. About  ten  o'clock  that  night  hard  bread  and 
ham,  sent  out  by  the  forethought  and  care  of  Beaure- 
gard,  were  issued  and  the  soldiers  got  "filled  up." 


THE    CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE    VICTORY.  55 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE    VICTORY. 

IT  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  no  man  on  either  side 
had  ever  seen  so  many  men  in  battle  before.  Scott's 
army  of  occupation  of  eight  thousand  in  Mexico,  had 
been  the  largest  number  that  any  of  them  had  ever  served 
with.  Johnston  had  never  seen  volunteers  march  or 
fight  before,  and  his  observation  of  their  marching 
power  on  the  route  from  Winchester  to  Piedmont,  had 
convinced  him  that  they  were  utterly  incapable  yet 
awhile  of  accomplishing  any  thing  with  their  legs. 
President  Davis,  on  the  contrary,  had  not  seen  the  army 
of  the  Shenandoah  march,  but  he  had  seen  the  First 
Mississippi  regiment,  with  him  as  colonel,  march  and 
fight  at  Monterey  and  Buena  Vista. 

While  the  one  underestimated,  the  other  exaggerated 
the  value  of  the  American  volunteer. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  Seven  Days'  Battles  that  the 
docility,  the  intelligence,  the  endurance  of  the  Southern 
volunteer  was  appreciated  by  Gen.  Lee.  I  do  not 
believe  that  any  Union  general-in-chief  but  McClellan 
and  Grant  ever  fully  understood  the  value  of  the  North- 
ern volunteer.  The  fact  that  General  Johnston  did  not 
accupy  Washington  in  the  few  days  after  the  rout  at 
Manassas,  force  recognition  by  the  foreign  powers  and 
achieve  independence  for  the  South,  has  been  greatly 
complained  of  among  the  Confederates,  and  criticised  in 


56  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  North,  and  by  a  foreign  writer.  President  Davis  has 
left  on  record  his  opinion  that  Johnston  ought  to  have 
taken  Washington,  and  that  if  he  had  acted  on  his 
advice  he  would  have  done  so.  The  Count  of  Paris 
thinks  that  while  he  could  not  have  taken  Washington, 
he  ought  to  have  sent  a  few  brigades  across  the  Potomac 
to  worry  and  harass  the  enemy. 

General  Johnston  himself  was  satisfied  of  the  wisdom 
of  his  course  and  never  changed  his  opinion. 

The  light  which  time  and  experience  throws  over 
events  and  situations  gives  us  clearer,  views  that  the 
actors  had.  Gen.  Johnston  was  of  opinion  that  his  army, 
exhausted  by  the  combat  and  the  marching  of  Sundav, 
2  ist,  without  wagons,  rations,  cooking  utensils  or  shoes, 
could  not  have  marched  the  thirty  miles  from  the  Stone 
Bridge  to  the  fortifications  of  Arlington  and  carried  them, 
nor  have  crossed  the  navigable  Potomac,  dominated  by 
war  vessels.  But  Gen.  Johnston  did  not  know,  for  at 
that  time  no  one  could  know,  the  enormous  force  of 
morale  in  men,  the  prodigious  power  of  enthusiasm. 

When  armies  meet  in  death  struggle,  and  one  over- 
comes the  other,  the  courage,  the  enthusiasm,  the  high 
spirit,  the  morale,  which  the  beaten  army  looses  is  at- 
tracted to  and  absorbed  by  the  victorious  army. 

The  pursuit  is  always  more  capable  of  supreme  effort 
than  the  retreat.  The  victor  is  stronger,  more  enduring, 
more  spirited,  than  the  vanquished.  He  can  march 
farther,  fight  harder,  eat  less,  sleep  less,  work,  more 
than  his  unsuccessful  opponent. 

Jackson  was  the  first  man  on  either  side  who  discov- 
ered this  fact  and  had  a  full  appreciation  of  it. 


THE    CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE    VICTORY.  57 

On  the  night  of  July  2ist,  no  one  had  any  idea  of  the 
extent  of  the  Federal  rout.  It  rained  all  night  after  the 
battle,  and  at  daylight  of  22d,  Col.  J,  E.  B.  Stuart 
was  sent  with  the  First  Virginia  cavalry  and  Elzey's 
brigade  to  Fairfax  Court  House.  On  that  march,  the 
symptoms  of  disorder  were  so  remarkable  that  Stuart 
refused  to  believe  the  evidence  of  his  own  eyes.  He 
suspected  that  a  ruse  was  being  used  and  a  trap  being 
laid.  The  road  was  filled  with  debris — perfect  muskets, 
accoutrements,  uniforms,  suttlers'  wagons,  handsome 
carriages  filled  with  the  choicest  delicacies  for  a  fete 
champetre;  in  one  place  a  soldier  picked  up  twenty 
double  eagles,  dropped  in  a  woodpath  at  a  foot  apart. 
At  another  place  a  man's  arm  was  lying  on  top  of  the 
top  rail  of  a  fence,  the  most  surprising  collection  of  sur- 
prising sights  that  the  eye  of  man  ever  saw.  At  Fairfax 
the  court  house  was  packed  full  of  brand  new  gray  over- 
coats and  the  yard  full  of  new  wall  tents. 

By  the  afternoon  of  the  22d,  Gen.  Johnston  knew  the 
extent  of  the  rout.  A  year  after  he  would  have  marched 
until  the  last  man  was  barefoot;  he  would  have  crossed 
the  Potomac  at  White's  Ford — have  taken  Washington 
in  reverse  and  by  Thursday,  July  25,  he  would  have 
issued  his  orders  from  the  White  House  in  Washington. 
Marching  toward  the  enemy,  his  men  would  have  found 
shoes  on  the  wayside,  they  would  have  picked  up  their 
rations  on  the  march,  they  would  have  found  everything 
that  was  necessary.  They  were  green  troops;  that  was 
the  \vay  to  season  them ;  they  were  inexperienced ;  that 
was  the  way  to  give  them  experience. 


58  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

It  js  easy  to  see  it  now.  It  was  almost  impossible  for 
Gen.  Johnston  to  have  understood  it  tht-n. 

Lee  did  it'  in  September,  1862.  But  Lee  and  his 
army  had  had  thirteen  months  of  marching  and  lighting, 
to  let  the  General  know  what  his  troops  could  do  and 
make  the  troops  understand  what  they  were  capable  of. 
But  Lee's  army  after  the  victory  of  second  Manassas  in 
August,  1862,  when  he  crossed  the  Potomac,  did  not 
attempt  to  capture  Washington. 

lie  had  beaten  McClell'an  on  the  peninsula,  he  had 
beaten  Pope  at  Manassas.  His  troops  were  composed 
of  veterans,  tough  campaigners,  of  a  hundred  combats. 

The  sole  defenders  of  Washington  were  the  debris  of 
beaten  armies,  who  had  never  seen  a  line  of  battle  of 
their  adversary,  without  being  driven  back  by  it,  and 
who  had  never  had  the  inspiration  of  one  small  success. 

Yet  Lee,  in  1862,  preferred  having  his  demoralized 
adversary  in  his  rear,  and  advancing  farther  into  the 
enemy's  country. 

We  now  understand  that  the  capture  of  Washington 
in  July,  1861,  did  not  involve  an  attack  on  fortifications, 
nor  the  carrying  of  a  bridge,  nor  the  control  of  a  navi- 
gable river.  It  did  involve  forced  marches  by  green 
men,  borne  up  by  enthusiasm  and  capable  under  the 
excitement  of  the  most  extraordinary  energy.  It  is  easy 
now  to  see  all  this. 

It  was  impossible  to  have  seen  and  understood  it  on 
the  22d  or  23d  of  July,  1861.  With  the  experience 
of  the  generals  and  of  their  troops,  officers  and  men, 
on  the  22d  of  July,  1861,  it  seems  now  as  if  they  did 


THE    CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE    VICTORY.  59 

everything  that  men  could  do  according  to  their  Jights 
at  that  time,  and  it  is  fruitless  now  to  attempt  to  appor- 
tion the  responsibility  for  what  was  left  undone ;  whether 
President  Davis  ordered,  or  advised,  or  expected  an  en- 
ergetic pursuit  and  a  prompt  advance ;  whether  General 
Beauregard  or  Johnston  considered  themselves  con- 
strained by  the  presence  of  the  commander-in-chief  from 
entire  liberty  of  action,  it  is  bootless  to  inquire  or  to 
determine. 

General  Johnston  has  definitely  settled  all  such 
discussion  by  assuming  the  entire  responsibilty  for  all 
the  delay  and  non-action,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life 
continued  entirely  satisfied  with  the  wisdom  of  his 
course. 

It  may  fairly  be  contended  that  if  Lee  in  1862,  with  a 
veteran  army  of  victors,  crowned  with  glory  and  imbued 
with  the  confidence  of  invincibility,  could  not  or  would 
not  attempt  to  take  Washington  from  the  debris  of  the 
armies  which  he  had  been  booting  about  Virginia  for  six 
months,  certainly  Johnston  was  justified  in  not  attempting 
it  with  utterly  inexperienced  troops.  I  believe  it  could 
have  been  done,  but  no  one  had  a  right  to  believe  so  on 
the  morning  of  July  22,  1861. 

The  consequences  of  the  victory  were  not  as  damag- 
ing to  the  defeated,  nor  as  advantageous  to  the  victors 
as  might  have  been  expected. 

The  Northern  statesmen  recovered  from  their  panic 
in  marvelous  brief  time,  and  at  once  applied  all  the 
energy  of  their  immense  machine  to  support  the  war. 

To  make  up  the  loss  of  the  Southern  market  to  the 


6O  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Northern  manufacturer,  they  gave  him  a  new  and  better 
market  in  war  expenses.  To  give  work  to  unemployed 
labor,  they  paid  bounties  to  recruits  and  premiums  to 
substitutes. 

The  vigor  of  a  democracy  was  never  more  vividly 
illustrated.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  took  control 
of  the1  last  dollar  and  the  last  man,  and  then  sent  out 
into  the  world  to  borrow  more  men  and  money. 

The  influence  on  the  South  was  not  so  invigorating. 
The  Southern  people  for  several  generations  had  trained 
themselves  into  a  vainglorious  mood  toward  the  Northern 
men. 

They  believed  that  they  were  inconquerable  by  the 
North,  and  that  the  men  of  the  North  were  not  their 
physical  nor  mental  equals.  The  rout  at  Manassas 
seemed  to  justify  their  estimate  of  their  value,  and  it 
was  difficult  to  get  States  or  societies  to  understand  that 
the  struggle  had  just  begun.  Manassas  was  considered 
to  have  demonstrated  the  futility  of  further  effort  to 
subjugate  the  South,  and  there  was  a  sensible  relaxa- 
tion of  the  effort  in  the  South.  The  Confederate 
Congress,  nor  the  State  governments,  had  the  least 
appreciation  of  the  necessity  of  finance  to  support  war. 
They  believed  that  supplies  could  be  raised  indefinitely 
by  mortgaging  the  future,  and  never  did  understand  that 
the  power  of  borrowing  on  the  one  side  was  only  created 
by  the  faith  in  payment,  and  that  a  debt  created,  with 
no  security  nor  provision  for  payment,  becomes  at  once 
a  burden. 

The  Confederate  government  could  have  bought  the 


THE    CONSEQUENCES    OF    THE    VICTORY.  6l 

entire  cotton  crop  for  bonds.  It  could  have  transported 
it  to  Europe  and  created  a  fund  of  a  thousand  millions 
in  gold,  which  would  have  floated  four  times  that  amount 
of  bonds,  have  bought  arms,  fleets,  moral  support,  rec- 
ognition, independence.  President  Davis  from  the  first 
had  the  clearest  ideas  of  the  necessity  of  the  emergency. 
Lee  and  Johnston  certainly  understood  it  as  well.  But 
the  brains  of  the  South  were  in  the  army.  Her  leading 
men,  her  thinkers  and  statesmen  were  in  the  field  in 
charge  of  regiments  or  brigades,  consequently  her  Con- 
gress was  inferior  to  the  Northern  Congress,  and  from 
first  to  last  there  was  not  a  single  man  in  the  legislative 
department  of  the  government  who  appreciated  the 
tremendous  problem  before  them. 

The  Confederate  States  were  not  crushed  by  over- 
whelming resources  nor  overpowering  numbers.  They 
were  out-thought  by  the  Northern  men.  The  great  brain 
of  Chase,  which  conceived  the  financial  system  of  the 
Union  side,  and  the  courage  of  Lincoln  and  the  sagacity 
of  Seward,  administered  the  resources  of  the  North  and 
applied  the  machinery  of  currency,  credit  and  industry, 
as  created  by  modern  civilization,  in  a  way  no  Southern 
statesman  was  able  to  do. 

The  monopoly  of  the  currency,  that  machine  by  which 
trade  and  commerce  and  industry  lives,  was  invented  by 
Chase  and  seized  by  the  Federal  powers  and  wielded 
with  irresistible  force  and  inexhaustible  resources. 

Therefore,  the  consequences  of  the  rout  at  Manassas 
were  rather  favorable  to  the  Federals  and  unfavorable 
to  the  Confederates. 


62  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE. 

1T\URING  the  two  or  three  days  succeeding  tne  battle, 
*— '  Gen.  Johnston  moved  up  to  Fairfax  court  house, 
where  he  established  the  headquarters  of  the  army  and 
distributed  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  a  line  of  canon- 
ments  extending  from  north  of  the  pourt-house  down 
beyond  Fairfax  station,  on  the  Orange  &  Alexandria 
Railroad  as  far  as  Wolf  Run  Shoals.  They  remained 
there  during  the  summer,  being  instructed  by  daily 
drills,  marches  and  alarms. 

In  September,  Beauregard,  who  was  the  spirit,  the 
elan,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  army,  pressed  down  to  the 
Potomac  and  occupied  a  line  of  hills  from  the  south  of 
Alexandria  up,  west  and  toward  the  north  of  that  place. 
Mason's,  Munson's,  Upton's,  Hall's  hills  were  all  occu- 
pied and  held  partly  as  points  of  observation,  for  from 
Mason's  hill,  Beauregard's  signal  officer  could  commu- 
nicate with  his  comrade  in  Washington,  and  also  for  the 
purpose  of  exasperating  the  Federals  into  a  fight.  The 
first  plan,  as  a  signal  station,  succeeded  admirably.  From 
Mason's  hill  at  night,  flashes  could  be  seen  and  sent 
from  and  to  a  house  in  Washington,  from  a  room  in  the 
third  story  of  which  movements  of  a  lamp  conveyed 
messages  to  the  Confederate  station  in  Virginia.  But  as 
a  challenge  or  a  taunt  the  move  was  a  failure. 

McClellan  was  organizing  his  army,  and  could  not 
be  di  vertex!  t  »  inferior  enterprises. 


THE    LINES    OF    CEXTREVILLE.  63 

His  first  business  was  to  make  an  army  a  fighting 
machine,  his  second  was  to  use  it  for  great  results.  So 
while  the  occupation  of  the  lines  of  Mason's,  Munson's 
and  Upton's  hills  added  greatly  to  the  morale  or  the 
self-glorification  of  the  Confederates,  the  only  substan- 
tial advantage  they  acquired  was  experience  in  march- 
ing, in  bivouac  and  in  prompt  movement.  During  this 
period  arose  a  controversy  which  was  painful  at  the 
time,  and  never  ceased  to  be  the  cause  of  soreness  during 
the  rest  of  the  war.. 

When  the  thirteen  Southern  States  withdrew  from  the 
Union  of  1787-89,  and  amended  the  articles  of  Union  and 
established  a  new  Union  under  them,  they  expected  that 
they  would  receive  their  proper  part  of  the  common 
property  of  all  the  States,  their  share  of  the  army  and 
navy  and  their  proportion  of  the  public  lands  and  funds. 
The  president  nor  Lee,  nor  Johnston,  expected  any  such 
thing.  They  knew  that  there  was  to  be  a  death  struggle 
between  the  two  systems,  and  that  there  was  no  alterna- 
tive but  independence  or  subjugation. 

But  the  public  expectation  was  that  reason  and  justice 
would  rule.  Each  State  had  had  educated  and  trained 
at  her  expense,  a  body  of  skilled  soldiers  at  the  com- 
mon military  school  of  all  the  States.  They  occupied 
various  ranks  and  posts  of  responsibility,  from  General 
Winfield  Scott  of  Virginia,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Army  of  the  United  States  and  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
Brigadier-General  and  Quartermaster-General  of  the 
Army  of  the  United  States,  and  Robert  Edward  Lee, 
Lieutant-Colonel  of  Dragoons,  down  to  Lieutenant  J.  E. 
B.  Stuart. 


64         LIFE  OF  GEN.  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON. 

When  the  States  undertook  to  separate  themselves 
from  the  Union,  they  believed  that  their  citizens  in  the 
army  would,  of  course,  follow  their  own  people.  And 
it  was  evidently  neither  just  nor  wise  that  soldiers,  the 
breath  of  whose  life  was  promotion,  rank  and  conse- 
quent power,  should  be  required  to  abandon  the  career 
of  their  choice  and  the  results  of  the  labors  of  life,  and 
enter  a  new  Service  on  terms  of  perfect  equality. 
Therefore  the  Confederate  Congress,'  on  March  14,  1861, 
first  provided  for  the  appointment  of  five  officers  with 
the  rank  of  Brigadier-Generals,  and  in  the  same  act  de- 
clared that  "in  all  cases  of  officers  who  have  resigned 
or  who  may  within  six  months  tender  their  resignation 
from  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  who  have 
been  or  may  be  appointed  to  original  vacancies  in  the 
Army  of  the  Confederate  States,  the  commissions  issued 
shall  bear  one  and  the  same  date,  so  that  the  relative 
rank  of  officers  of  each  grade  shall  be  determined  by 
their  former  commissions  in  the  United  States  Army, 
held  anterior  to  the  secession  of  these  Confederate  States 
from  the  United  States." 

The  object  of  this  law  was  to  indemnify  all  citizens 
who  left  the  service  of  the  United  States  and  entered 
that  of  the  Confederate  States  by  securing  them,  not  the 
same  rank,  but  the  same  relative  rank,  in  the  new  service 
as  they  had  enjoyed  in  the  old. 

It  was  not  intended  as  a  promise  to  General  Scott, 
that  if  he  would  leave  the  Army  of  the  United  States 
he  would  fce  guaranteed  the  Command-in-chief  of  the 
Army  of  the  Confederate  States,  for  before  that  law 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  6$ 

passed,  March  14,  1861,  it  had  been  definitely  ascer- 
tained and  settled  that  General  Scott  would  stay  where 
he  was.  But  it  was  at  the  same  time  equally  understood 
that  General  Johnston  and  Colonel  Lee  would  certainly 
resign,  and  take  commissions  under  the  Confederacy. 

The  act  of  Congress,  therefore,  was  in  substance  an 
offer  by  Virginia  and  her  co-States  to  Johnston,  Lee  and 
others — that  if  you  will  give  up  your  places  in  the  Army 
of  the  United  States,  we  will  guarantee  you  the  same  rela- 
tive rank  in  the  Army  of  the  Confederate  States.  You, 
General  Johnston  shall  rank  you,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lee,  and  you,  Colonel  Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  shall 
rank  you,  Captain  Beauregard.  This  was  plain  and 
understood  of  all  men. 

The  five  brigadier-generals  under  the  act  of  March 
14,  with  relative  rank  as  provided  by  that  act,  were: 

1.  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  (Brigadier-General  U.  S.  A.) 

2.  Samuel  Cooper,  (Colonel  U.  S.  A.) 

3.  A.  S.  Johnston,  (Colonel  U.  S.  A.) 

4.  R.  E.  Lee,  (Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  A.) 

5.  G.  T.  Beauregard,  (Captain  U.  S.  A.) 

These  were  the  brigadier-generals  appointed  under 
the  act  of  March  14,  1861,  with  their  relative  rank  as 
fixed  by  that  act. 

On  May  i6th,  the  Congress  passed  another  act,  that 
the  five  Brigadier-Generals  shall  have  the  rank  and 
denomination  of  Generals  instead  of  Brigadier-Generals, 
which  shall  be  the  highest  military  grade  known  to  the 
Confederate  States.  Therefore,  under  the  law,  the 
Brigadier-Generals  were  at  once  converted  into  Gen- 


66  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

erals,  Joseph  E.  Johnston  being  first,  Cooper  second, 
A.  S.  Johnston  third,  R.  E.  Lee  fourth  and  G.  T. 
Beauregard  fifth.  Thus  far  the  point  is  too  plain  for 
discussion. 

But  when  commissions  were  issued  to  these  brigadiers 
turned  into  generals,  the  President  nominated  them  to 
be  generals  in  the  Confederate  service,  first,  Cooper  to 
rank  from  May  16;  second,  A.  S.  Johnston  to  rank 
from  May  28;  third,  Lee  from  June  14;  fourth,  J.  E. 
Johnston  from  July  4,  and  fifth,  Beauregard  from  July 
21,  the  day  of  the  battle  of  First  Manassas.  When 
General  Johnston  was  officially  informed  of  their  nomi- 
nations and  the  confirmation  thereof,  he  was  deeply 
wounded,  and  greatly  offended,  as  he  had  the  right  to 
be.  He  then  wrote  the  letter  quoted  in  the  first  page  of 
this  memoir.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  in  order  that  sense  of 
injury  might  not  betray  me  into  the  use  of  language 
improper  from  an  officer  to  the  President,  I  laid  aside  the 
letter  for  two  days,  and  then  examined  it  dispassionately, 
T  believe,  and  was  confident  that  what  it  contained  was 
not  improper  to  be  said  by  a  soldier  to  the  President,  nor 
improperly  said.'' 

When  General  Johnston  wrote  his  narrative  in  1874, 
and  his  paper  in  Scribner's  "Battles  and  Leaders,"  ir 
1886,  he  had  only  the  last  page  of  this  letter.  Mrs. 
Davis  has  given  us  the  full  text  in  her  memoir,  and  I 
have  inserted  the  leading  part  in  the  first  pages  of  this 
memoir.  Looking  at  it  now,  after  the  lapse  of  thirty 
years,  it  must  be  conceded  that  General  Johnston  was 
within  his  right. 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.      '  67 

He  was  the  ranking  officer  who  left  the  army  of  the 
United  States,  He  was  the  only  general  officer  who 
left  that  service. 

He  was  the  senior  brigadier-general  in  the  original 
organization  of  the  army  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
by  law,  by  logic,  by  justice,  by  the  comradeship  of 
arms,  he  ought  to  have  retained  his  seniority  when  all 
the  brigadiers  were  converted  into  generals. 

He  had  a  right  to  be  indignant,  and  to  express  himself 
as  he  did  at  the  treatment  he  had  received.  But  at  the 
very  beginning  he  had  differed  radically  with  President 
Davis,  as  to  the  policy  and  strategy  of  the  war,  as  has 
been  seen,  and  it  may  well  be  that  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  all  the  armies  was  absolutely  unwilling  to  have 
at  the  head  of  his  army,  an  officer  who  differed  with 
him  so  radically  as  Johnston  did.  Confidence  is  a  vase, 
once  cracked  can  never  be  made  whole,  and  these  two 
points  destroyed  the  possibility  of  Davis  and  Johnston 
co-operating  with  cordiality  and  mutual  forbearance. 
They  were  too  much  alike  to  get  along.  Each  intellec- 
tual, thoughtful,  full  of  ideas  as  of  sentiment;  each 
with  the  highest  ideals  of  duty,  of  friendship,  and  of- 
honor.  If  they  had  agreed  they  would  have  been  insep- 
arable in  their  ideas  and  their  acts.  Their  union  would 
have  made  a  prodigious  force  for  the  Confederacy. 

But  they  were  each  high  tempered,  impetuous,  jeal- 
ous of  honor,  of  the  love  of  their  friends,  and  they 
could  brook  no  rival.  They  required  absolute  devotion, 
without  question.  Neither  could  accord  that  confidence 
to  the  other,  and  they  separated,  and  their  divergence 


68  MFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    K.  JOHNSTON. 

widened  every  day  until  the  convention  at  Durham's 
station. 

During  the  month  of  September  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  organized  into  four  divisions,  containing 
thirteen  brigades.  Major-General  Earl  Van  Dorn 
commanded  the  first  division  of  Bonham's,  Early's 
and  Rode's  brigades;  Major-General  James  Long- 
street  commanded  the  second  division  of  D.  R.  Jones, 
Ewell  and  Cocke's  brigades;  Major-General  Gustavus 
W.  Smith  had  S.  Jones,  Toombs  and  Wilcox  brigades, 
and  Major-General  Thomas  J.  Jackson  (Stonewall)  had 
the  Stonewall,  Elzey's,  Crittenden's  and  Walker's 
brigades. 

President  Davis  came  to  Fairfax  on  the  last  day  of 
September,  and  called  a  conference  with  Gens.  Johnston 
and  Beauregard  and  G.  W.  Smith. 

It  was  proposed  to  cross  the  Potomac  at  the  fords 
above  Washington,  take  position  in  the  rear  of  Wash- 
ington, and  thus  force  McClellan  out  of  his  entrench- 
ments and  make  him  attack.  The  President  demanded 
to  know  what  force  was  considered  necessary  for  such 
An  enterprise.  Smith  thought  fifty  thousand  would  be 
enough.  Beauregard  and  Johnston  considered  sixty 
thousand  necessary.  The  Generals  proposed  that 
twenty  thousand  men  should  be  taken  from  the  seacoast 
of  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  thrown 
into  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  with  these  reinforce- 
ments, they  considered  that  results  could  reasonably  be 
anticipated  highly  profitable  to  the  Confederacy.  But 
tin.-  President  considered  it  impracticable  to  strip  the 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  69 

ports  to  reinforce  for  this  move,  and  all  idea  of  aggres- 
sive operations  ceased  for  the  season  of  1861. 

About  the  first  of  November  the  department  of  North- 
ern Virginia  was  created,  and  Gen.  Johnston  assigned 
to  the  command  of  it. 

It  was  composed  of  the  valley  district  lying  between 
the  Alleghany  and  Blue  Ridge  mountains,  commanded 
by  Major-General  T.  J.  Jackson. 

The  district  of  the  Potomac,  commanded  by  General 
Beauregard,  extending  from  the  Blue  Ridge  to  Quantico, 
on  the  Potomac,  and  that  of  Acquia,  from  Quantico  to 
the  Chesapeake,  commanded  by  Major-General  Holmes. 
Major-General  E.  Kirby  Smith,  having  recovered  from 
his  wound,  reported  for  duty  and  was  placed  in  command 
of  the  reserve. 

The  summer  and  fall  of  1861  was  employed  in  the 
instruction  of  the  troops.  They  suffered  severely  from 
mumps  and  measles,  and  some  regiments  whick  had 
come  up  one  thousand  strong  could  hardly  turn  out 
enough  effective  men  for  camp  guard. 

By  October  19,  General  McClellan,  having  progressed 
sufficiently  with  the  organization  and  instruction  of  his 
army  as  to  make  it  capable  of  movement  and  enterprises, 
General  Johnston  withdrew  from  his  posts  on  the  Poto- 
mac at  Mason's  and  Munson's  hills  and  his  lines  at  Fair- 
fax court-house  to  a  position  at  Centreville,  which  was 
much  stronger  in  front  and  less  easily  turned. 

At  this  time  the  effective  total  of  all  arms  in  the 
Department  of  Northern  Virginia  capable  of  going  into 
battle  was  forty-one  thousand  men.  According  to  the 


70  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

reports  of  Johnston's  spies,  the  effective  force  of  the 
Federal  army  opposed  to  him  was  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand.  The  troops  went  into  winter  quarters  in  log 
cabins  which  they  constructed  along  Bull  Run. 

During  January,  1862,  Gen.  Beauregard  and  Major- 
Gen.  Van  Dorn  were  ordered  to  the  Western  army,  and 
shortly  afterward  Major-Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith  was  sent 
to  command  the  Department  of  East  Tennessee. 

While  the  organization  was  thus  greatly  interfered  with 
by  the  transference  of  Beauregard,  Van  Dorn  and  Smith 
to  other  fields  of  duty,  the  morale  of  the  army  was  radi- 
cally impaired  by  unmilitary  interference  from  the  Sec- 
retary of  War's  Office  at  Richmond.  A  large  body  of 
the  troops  had  enlisted  for  twelve  months  in  March  or 
April,  1861.  As  the  period  of  their  term  approached, 
the  men  became  more  and  more  restless. 

None  of  them  contemplated  leaving  the  field.  Patriot- 
ism, pride  and  duty  all  combined  to  keep  them  up  to 
the  work  of  defending  their  homes.  But  they  wanted 
to  change  their  companies.  They  did  not  like  their 
officers,  or  they  wanted  to  change  their  branch  of  ser- 
vice. They  were  tired  of  walking  and  wanted  to  ride, 
or  they  were  tired  of  grooming  horses  and  wanted  to 
go  into  the  artillery  and  so  forth,  and  so  forth. 

No  man  who  was  not  present,  and  party  to  it,  can 
appreciate  the  ferment  that  was  going  on  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  in  January  and  February,  1862. 

Everybody  was  dissatisfied.  The  commissioned  offi- 
cers were  uncertain  in  their  positions,  for  they  did  not 
know  whether  they  were  to  be  retained  in  their  places 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  71 

in  their  companies,  and  their  regiments.  The  men  in 
the  ranks  were  disorganized,  because  they  were  in  a 
ferment  for  promotion. 

Bad  as  the  situation  was  from  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  it  was  ten  times  intensified  by  the  lack  of  discre- 
tion at  the  war  office  in  Richmond. 

While  Johnston  was  trying  to  influence  his  people  by  the 
legitimate  means  of  controlling  his  officers  at  Manassas, 
the  war  office  was  doing  everything  to  disorganize  his 
command  and  discredit  him. 

The  Secretary  of  War  would  furlough  whole  compa- 
nies without  consulting  the  commanding  General. 

Johnston  writes:  "The  Secretary  of  War  has  ordered 
a  private  soldier  to  be  detailed  on  special  duty,  an  order 
which  I  venture  to  say  has  never  before  been  issued  by 
by  a  Secretary  of  War  in  time  of  war." 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  at  Manassas,  from  being 
a  highly  organized,  finely  tempered  machine  in  October 
and  November,  1861,  had  become  little  better  than  a 
badly  demoralized  mob  by  February,  1862.  I  have 
known  twenty-one  men  taken  from  one  company,  de- 
tailed by  a  special  order  of  the  department  of  war  at 
Richmond,  without  reference  to  the  Colonel  command- 
ing the  regiment,  or  the  captain  commanding  the  com- 
pany, much  less  the  General  commanding  the  army. 

While  this  was  going  on  with  us,  we  had  certain 
information  of  the  progress  of  organization  on  the  other 
side. 

McClellan,  beyond  doubt,  was  a  great  organizer.  He 
had  the  faculty  of  taking  great  bodies  of  men  and 


72  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 

infusing  into  them  one  spirit,  one  idea,  supreme  confidence 
in  himself. 

He  was  not  a  great  General.  He  will  never  com- 
pare with  Marlborough  or  Wellington,  or  Grant,  or  Lee, 
or  the  great  soldiers  that  the  English  race  has  produced 
in  the  last  three  centuries.  He  was  eminently  an  intel- 
lectual man.  He  understood  the  mathematics  of  life. 
,  He  knew  that  two  and  two  made  four,  and  given  certain 
quantities  of  men,  of  weather,  of  roads,  of  human 
energy,  McClellan  was  a  great  soldier.  But  he  was 
utterly  incapable  of  dealing  with  the  "unknown 
quantity."  He  had  no  imagination.  He  could  not 
project  himself  into  the  hearts  and  rninds  of  his  men  so  as 
to  calculate  or  appreciate  or  estimate  the  value  of 
enthusiasm  with  them.  He  thought  he  was  a  sentimental 
soldier.  He  believed  he  was  a  romantic  knight.  His 
conduct  was  keyed  up  to  the  highest  point  of  sympathy, 
with  chivalry,  and  honor,  and  generosity  in  war. 

McClellan  never  struck  a  foul  blow,  and  never  tole- 
rated mean  men  or  mean  methods  about  him.  He 
generated  and  organized,  and  propagated  an  enthusiasm, 
a  generous  ideal  of  war,  a  high  sense  of  chivalry,  which 
is  the  duty  of  fighting  the  belligerent  and  sparing  the 
weak,  and  he  impressed  on  his  Army  of  the  Potomac 
the  most  intense  feeling  of  personal  devotion  to  him. 

His  fight  at  Sharpsburgh  showed  that.  No  man  who 
ever  lived  could  have  taken  the  debris  of  armies,  one  of 
which  had  been  driven  from  Mechanicsville  to  Harri- 
son's Landing,  another  from  Cross  Keys  and  Port 
Republic  to  the  mountains,  another  from  Cedar  moun- 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  73 

tain,  and  then  the  whole  three  booted  and  kicked  from 
Manassas  to  the  fortifications  of  Washington;  no  man 
could  have  remodeled  and  remoraled  these  broken 
debris  of  armies  from  September  2,  to  September  15, 
1862,  and  made  them  fight  as  he  did,  but  a  great  soul. 
But  McClellan  fell  below  the  measure  of  the  greatest, 
because  he  did  not  know  how  to  estimate  the  value  of 
his  own  people  and  the  force  of  his  adversary  at  a  given 
time. 

Before  Richmond  in  1862,  he  certainly  ought  to  have 
pushed  forward  and  taken  his  adversary's  base.  At 
Sharpsburgh  in  September,  1862,  he  ought  to  have  cap- 
tured Lee's  army,  but  his  fine  mathematical  intellect  too 
clearly  appreciated  the  quantities  of  the  problem;  given 
so  much  force,  so  much  will,  so  much  numbers  on  one 
side,  and  an  indefinite  quantity  of .  will  on  the  other, 
he  could  not  tell  what  the  result  of  the  collision  would 
be.  Therefore,  he  had  no  collision. 

In  August,  September,  October,  November,  1861,  he 
kept  his  raw  levies  in  his  camps.  He  drilled  his  men, 
he  instructed  his  officers  in  never  ceasing  schools,  where 
he  made  old  soldiers  drawn  from  all  the  armies  of  the 
world  his  drill  masters. 

He  had  the  most  accurate  dress  parades,  he  had  the 
most  regular  reviews,  and  he  sacrificed  everything  to  the 
style,  the  pomp,  the  parade  of  war.  The  soldiers  of  for- 
tune he  drew  to  him  from  the  refuse  of  the  armies  of  the 
old  world — the  Sigeles,  Blenkers,  Sir  Percy  Windhams, 
all  the  adventurers  from  everywhere,  knew  more  about 
drill  and  style  and  appearances  than  the  American  vol- 


74  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

unteer.  They  were  deficient  in  brains;  they  became 
rattled  in  battle,  they  had  not  the  faculty  of  becoming 
cooler  and  concentrated  in  high  excitement.  The  South 
had  only  a  few  of  such  men ;  the  North  had  many  of 
them,  and  not  one  stood  the  test  of  use  and  time,  not  one 
ever  achieved  any  high  renown  or  position. 

While  McClellan  was  thus  organizing  his  raw  levies 
on  the  Potomac,  the  War  Department  at  Richmond  was 
demoralizing  Johnston's  seasoned  soldiers  at  Manassas. 

Before  the  concentration  of  the  Army  of  the  Shenan- 
doah  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  it  had  been  discus- 
sed between  Generals  Johnston  and  Beauregard  whether 
the  line  of  the  Rappahannock  would  not  be  a  better  line 
than  that  of  Manassas  and  the  Potomac. 

A  Federal  column  moving  up  the  valley  could  cross 
the  Blue  Ridge  at  several  passes — at  Chester's  Gap  from 
Front  Royal,  or  Brown's  Gap  to  Madison  court  house, 
and  would  be  two  marches  nearer  Richmond  than  an 
army  at  Manassas  Junction.  And  a  movement  to  take 
up  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock  was  being  discussed 
when  McDowell  precipitated  the  decision  by  selecting 
Bull  Run  for  the  line  of  battle? 

As  the  spring  of  1862  advanced,  it  became  clear  that 
as  soon  as  the  roads  would  permit,  McClellan  must 
move.  Gen.  Johnston  did  not  have  a  convinced  opinion 
as  to  a  Federal  advance  by  land  on  the  line  of  the  Vir- 
ginian railroads.  The  command  of  the  water  absolutely 
held  by  the  Federals,  and  the  navigable  rivers  which 
pierced  the  side  of  Virginia,  the  Potomac,  the  Rappa- 
hannock, the  York  and  the  James,  gave  at  a  dozen 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  75 

points  places  for  bases  of  operation  which  could  not 
possibly  escape  the  attention  of  McClellan. 

One  day  a  group  of  young  officers  were  in  Gen. 
Johnston's  Adjutant's  office  at  Centreville,  and  Col. 
George  W.  Lay,  his  aid-de-camp,  was  delivering  a 
discourse  on  strategy.  Lay  had  been  Gen.  Scott's 
military  secretary  and  aid  for  years,  and  had  probably 
as  large  a  view  of  the  science  of  war,  and  of  this  par- 
ticular war,  as  any  man  living.  He  had  the  map  of 
Virginia  before  him,  and  was  demonstrating  to  his  circle 
of  ardent  and  inquisitive  auditors  the  folly  and  imprac- 
ticability of  an  attack  on  the  lines  of  Centreville  and  an 
advance  to  Richmond  by  that  route.  The  way  to 
Richmond  is  this,  said  he,  putting  his  finger  on  City 
Point,  and  Richmond  can  only  be  taken  by  an  army 
operating  south  of  the  James. 

Gen.  Johnston  had  entered  the  room  without  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  absorbed  auditors  or  the  speaker. 
He  here  broke  in:  "Col.  Lay,  don't  you  think  it  unad- 
visable  to  make  such  a  discussion  ;  you  cannot  know 
who  may  be  evesdropping."  And  that  conversation 
ceased. 

But  as  the  spring  opened,  Johnston  apprehended  that 
McClellan  might  march  down  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Potomac,  pass  his  army  rapidly  across  below  Acquia 
creek,  where  he  could  move  promptly  to  Fredericks- 
burg,  and  would  be  three  days  nearer  Richmond  than 
Johnston. 

Therefore,  on  March  pth,  he  withdrew  from  the  lines 
at  Centreville  just  as  McClellan  advanced  to  feel  his 
force,  and  took  position  behind  the  Rappahannock. 


76  LIFK    OK    GEN.    JOSEI'H    K.  JOHNSTON. 

McCiellan  replied  to  this  move  by  transporting  his 
whole  army  by  water  to  York  River,  when  Fortress 
Monroe  gave  him  a  fortified  base,  and  Hampton  Roads 
brought  his  supplies  to  his  very  camps. 

The  six  positions  selected  by  the  Confederate  admin- 
istration to  be  occupied  in  force  so  as  to  protect  Virginia 
from  invasion,  were  Grafton,  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad,  west  of  Cumberland;  Harper's  Ferry  to  cover 
the  Valley;  Manassas  Junction  to  protect  the  interior 
railroads;  Acquia  creek  to  cover  the  flank  of  Manassas; 
Yorktown  and  Norfolk. 

Johnston  objected  to  the  strategy  which  endeavored 
to  defend  positions,  and  the  event  justified  his  judgment. 
The  secession  of  West  Virginia  carried  off  Grafton 
without  a  struggle.  Patterson's  move  to  Williamsport 
gave  him  check  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  he  was  forced 
out  of  that  position. 

Now  the  movement  of  McCiellan  by  the  water 
route  obliged  the  abandonment  of  the  line  of  the 
Potomac,  and  no  sooner  had  the  design  of  the  Federal 
General  been  developed,  than  it  became  clear  that  Nor- 
folk and  Yorktown  must  be  abandoned. 

An  army  on  the  peninsula,  between  the  York  and 
the  James,  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  power  which  controls 
the  water.  Cornwallis*  found  it  so.  McCiellan  ought 
to  have  utilized  his  tremendous  advantage  instead  of  a 
laborious  siege  operation  at  Yorktown.  He  could  have 
landed  his  army  at  West  Point,  forty  miles  from  Rich- 
mond, or  at  City  Point,  eight  miles  from  Petersburg, 
and  from  either  place,  with  his  communications  abso- 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  77 

lutely  untrammeled,  would  have  been  free  for  a  positive 
movement  on  the  capital  of  his  adversary.  The  Army 
of  the  Potomac  had  not  got  back  to  the.  Rappahannock 
before  the  appearance  of  McClellan  on  York  river 
notified  Johnston  of  his  next  move.  He  accordingly 
confronted  McClellan  at  Yorktown,  with  the  troops  who 
had  been  observing  him  for  the  preceding  six  months 
on  the  line  of  the  Potomac. 

But  before  this,  an  incident  had  occurred  which  was 
fraught  with  grave  consequences  to  the  Confederacy. 
Before  the  2Oth  of  February,  Gen.  Johnston  had  been 
ordered  to  Richmond  to  confer  with  the  President,  and 
on  his  arrival  on  the  forenoon  of  the  2Oth,  he  had  a  pro- 
longed conference  with  Mr.  Davis  and  his  cabinet  at 
his  office  at  what  had  been  and  is  now  the  post-office  and 
custom-house.  The  result  of  a  discussion  of  several 
hours  was  that,  without  giving  orders,  Gen.  Johnston 
understood  that  the  army  was  to  fall  back  as  soon  as 
practicable. 

The  dicussion  was  of  course  strictly  confidential,  yet 
on  going  straight  from  the  meeting  to  the  Spottswood 
Hotel,  only  two  squares  off,  he  was  asked  by  Col.  Pender, 
of  the  Sixth  North  Carolina,  just  arrived  in  the  city  on 
his  way  to  the  army,  if  he,  Johnston,  had  heard  a 
report,  which  he,  Pender,  had  found  in  the  house  on  his 
arrival,  that  the  cabinet  had  been  discussing  that  day, 
the  question  of  withdrawing  the  army  from  the  line  then 
occupied. 

Gen.  Johnston  accepted  this  rumor  as  proof  positive  of 
the  indiscretion  of  some  member  of  the  cabinet,  and  never 


78  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    K.  JOHNSTON. 

thereafter  gave  his  confidence  to  the  President  nor  those 
in  authority  over  him.  He  insisted  that  if  his  plans  were 
communicated  to  anyone,  they  \vould  immediately  be 
made  known  to  the  Federal  authorities,  and  thencefor- 
ward he  steadfastly  refused  to  take  anyone  into  his 
confidence. 

But  in  this  instance,  which  was  the  foundation  for  his 
mistrust,  he  seems  to  have  acted  on  insufficient  evidence. 

The  fact  that  Col.  Fender  heard  a  rumor  at  the 
Spottswood  Hotel  that  the  cabinet  had  been  in  consulta- 
tion that  day  about  a  withdrawal  from  Manassas,  did  not 
prove  in  the  slightest  degree  that  any  one  in  that  con- 
ference had  mentioned  anything  outside  about  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  it.  Two  facts  were  notorious:  Gen. 
Johnston  had  left  the  army  and  Jiad  come  to  Richmond. 
He  had  never  done  so  since  June,  1861.  He  had  gone 
at  once  to  a  cabinet  meeting,  which  was  kept  up  for 
several  hours. 

It  took  no  great  imagination  to  discern  that  the  com- 
mander of  the  army  had  been  sent  for,  for  conference, 
and  that  conference  could  only  refer  to  a  withdrawal  of 
the  army. 

It  would  seem  therefore  that  Gen.  Johnston  too  hastily 
concluded  that  the  indiscretion  of  the  cabinet  had 
exposed  his  councils,  and  it  was  extremely  unfortunate 
that  he  should  have  come  to  this  conclusion. 

He  withdrew  his  army  from  before  McClellan,  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  his  superior  officer,  and  Mr.  Davis 
says  he  met  some  artillery  actually  in  the  suburbs  of 
Richmond  before  he  knew  that  the  army  was  falling 
back. 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  79 

But  behind  it  all  was  Johnston's  sense  of  the  cruel  injus- 
tice which  had  been  done  him  on  the  question  of  rank, 
and  the  absolute  lack  of  confidence  between  himself 
and  the  President.  He  did  not  believe  that  Mr.  Davis 
appreciated  or  understood  at  all  the  real  conditions  of  the 
struggle.  He  believed  that  his  large  experience  had 
qualified  him  far  beyond  the  President  to  judge  and 
decide  as  to  proper  measures  and  movements.  He 
urged  and  insisted  on  certain  views  of  policy.  For 
instance,  from  Centreville  he  urged  that  his  commissary 
be  allowed  to  live  on  the  country  around  and  in  front  of 
his  lines,  because  he  said  they  will  otherwise  be  ulti- 
mately lost.  But  supplies  were  collected  along  the 
railroad,  hauled  by  his  camps  to  Richmond,  and  the 
next  week  hauled  back  and  issued  to  his  troops. 

He  remonstrated  at  this  maladministration,  and  he  had 
no  patience  with  it.  Taking  into  consideration  the 
inexperience  of  every  one  connected  with  the  staff,  it  is 
remarkable  how  well  it  did  its  wOrk,  and  it  is  not  just  to 
criticise  it  for  inefficiency. 

tf 

But  Gen.  Johnston  had  been  Quartermaster  General 
of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  a  machine  with  the 
experience  of  ninety  years,  and  the  brightest  intellects 
that  had  been  applied  to  logistics  at  any  time. 

It  is  not  beyond  the  fact  to  say  that  the  trained  and 
educated  staff  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States  has 
never  had,  and  has  not  now,  its  equal  in  the  world.  In 
intelligence,  in  education,  in  force,  and  in  energy,  it  is 
without  a  peer. 

It  is  the  fashion  to  overestimate  the  great  ability  of   , 


SO  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  German  staff,  and  of  Von  Moltke  and  his  school. 
But  the  ^soldiers  trained  at  West  Point,  in  brains,  in 
acquirement  in  force,  in  capacity  to  do  things,  have 
never  been  equalled  anywhere,  and  the  first  great  trial 
of  force  this  country  is  ever  involved  in  will  prove  it 
again. 

Gen.  Johnston  had  been  accustomed  to  the  smooth 
working  of  the  great  machine  of  which  he  had  been 
chief,  and  he  did  riot  make  just  allowance  for  the  diffi- 
culties in  taking  clerks,  young  lawyers,  absolutely 
inexperienced  young  men,  and  putting  them  in  charge 
of  duties,  where  exact  obedience  is  the  highest  obligation. 

The  necessities  of  the  situation  compelled  this,  and 
the  Confederate  staff  accomplished  miracles. 

No  men  ever  did  more  with  less  means  than  they  did. 
But  the  inefficiency  of  the  staff  in  January  and  February, 
1862,  as  the  marching  of  the  volunteers  in  July,  1861, 
exasperated  Gen.  Johnston,  and  the  incident  with 
Fender  only  assisted  to  aggravate  the  general  situation. 

As  McClellan  began  to  move  on  Johnston's  lines  at 
Yorktown  in  the  most  skillful  and  approved  manner, 
and  began  to  open  his  parallels  of  approach  according 
to  strictest  rules  of  science,  Johnston  interested  himself 
in  committing  McClellan  to  this  method  of  operations. 

Every  day's  delay  cost  the  invading  army  in  money 
and  men  and  means,  and  if  McClellan  could  only  be 
induced  to  dig  his  way  to  Richmond,  it  was  supposed 
that,  while  it  would  gratify  his  scientific  aspirations,  it 
would  not  greatly  incommode  his  adversaries. 

Yorktown  is  on  the  south  side  of  York  river,  on  the 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  8l 

peninsula  between  the  James  and  the  York ;  at  the  end 
of  the  peninsula,  the  point  between  the  Chesapeake 
and  the  James,  is  Fortress  Monroe,  a  place  heavily 
fortified  and  with  deep  water  approaches. 

McClellan  had  landed  about  100,000  effectives  on  the 
peninsula  for  the  movement  on  Richmond.  When 
Johnston  assumed  command,  he  had  probably  53,000 
effectives.  But  Johnston  knew  the  map  of  Virginia  as 
well  as  any  man  who  ever  lived.  He  knew  the  naviga- 
ble waters  penetrating  her  eastern  side,  and  was  perfectly 
acquainted  with  their  depth  and  capacity.  He  knew 
before  he  went  to  the  peninsula,  that  it  was  utterly 
untenable.  The  Union  general  had  absolute  control 
of  the  water.  York  was  already  in  his  hands.  The 
James  would  be  when  he  required  it. 

The  Confederate  line,  extending  across  the  narrow 
neck  of  land  between  the  York  and  the  James,  could 
be  flanked  whenever  he  chose  to  do  so.  He  could 
occupy  Gloucester  Point  on  the  north  side  of  the  York, 
land  a  proper  force  there,  march  to  West  Point  abso- 
lutely secure  from  attack;  or  he  could  move  up  James 
river  and  seize  a  point  west  of  the  Chickahominy,  and 
by  either  move,  would  have  his  army  nearer  Richmond 
than  Johnston. 

Besides  this,  McDowell,  with  38,000  effectives,  was 
at  Fredericksburg,  eighty  miles  north  of  Richmond,  as 
near  that  point  as  Johnston  found  the  Confederate  army. 
The  first  thing  to  be  done  then  was  to  withdraw  and 
place  his  force  in  such  a  position  as  could  meet  an 
advance,  either  by  the  York  or  the  James,  or  by  both,  as 


82  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 

well  as  guard  against  McDowell.  This  withdrawal 
was  effected  with  promptness  and  skill.  The  Confed- 
erate rear  guard  covering  Johnston's  trains  was  fiercely 
assailed  by  the  Union  advance,  and  after  a  bloody  light 
on  May  5,  1862,  at  Williamsburg,  captured  four  hun- 
dred unwounded  prisoners,  ten  colors  and  twelve  field 
pieces. 

The  Confederates  slept  on  the  field  of  battle,  and 
though  in  some  accounts  on  the  Union  side  this  affair  is 
claimed  as  a  great  Union  victory,  the  fact  is  that  the 
Confederates  captured  and  carried  off  the  trophies  of 
battle,  slept  on  the  field  and  marched  off  the  next 
morning  at  their  leisure  and  convenience,  and  did  not 
have  a  shot  fired  at  them  for  weeks. 

The  Chickahominy  is  a  stream  flowing  from  a  point 
north  of  Richmond  in  a  southeasterly  direction,  its 
nearest  point  three  miles  from  the  suburb  of  Richmond. 
For  the  first  part  of  its  course  it  is  an  insignificant 
branch^  in  the  Virginian  vernacular,  a  small  stream 
everywhere  fordable.  But  it  drains  an  extensive  water- 
shed of  hilly,  rolling  country,  and  a  hard  rain  raises 
the  stream  and  floods  its  banks  for  hundreds  of  yards 
on  each  side  with  a  prodigious  quantity  of  water.  The 
stream  will  rise  ten  feet  in  two  hours.  On  occasions, 
and  what  was  at  noon  a  pretty,  sluggish  brook,  by  sun- 
down will  become  a  turbid  torrent,  more  than  a  mile 
wide,  unapproachable  by  any  ordinary  means  of  trans- 
portation. 

Numerous  bridges  and  fords  along  the  upper  part  of 
the  Chickahominy  afford  easy  access  across  it.  In  its 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  83 

ordinary  stages  it  opposed  no  great  obstacle  to  move- 
ments from  either  side,  but  after  a  hard  rain  up  the 
the  country,  it  became  a  serious  consideration  in  moving 
or  feeding  or  fighting  an  army. 

Johnston  withdrew  from  the  peninsula,  and  took  posi- 
tion on  the  right  or  southern  and  western  side  of  the 
Chickahominy.  He  placed  a  brigade  at  Hanover  court- 
house, fifteen  miles  north  of  Richmond,  to  keep  a  watch 
over  McDowell,  and  another  at  Gordonsville,  to  protect 
his  railroad  communications  with  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
and  the  army  under  Jackson  there  being  collected. 

He  urged  upon  President  Davis  and  Gen.  Lee,  who 
was  acting  as  the  President's  military  counsellor,  the 
paramount  importance — first,  of  drawing  McClellan  as 
far  from  his  base  as  possible.  This  he  had  accom- 
plished by  making  him  follow  to  the  Chickahominy. 
Second,  of-  concentrating  all  the  troops  of  the  Con- 
federacy into  one  army  of  overwhelming  numbers,  and 
with  that  falling  on  McClellan  and  crushing  him.  Noth- 
ing was  to  be  left  to  chance.  But  he  insisted  that 
Charleston,  Wilmington,  Savannah  and  Mobile  should 
be  stripped  of  troops,  and  that  McClellan's  destruction 
should  be  made  certain,  absolutely,  mathematically 
certain,  as  could  have  been  done  had  Johnston's  urgent 
appeal  been  consented  to. 

But  neither  Mr.  Davis  nor  Gen.  Lee  were  willing  to 
give  up  the  ports,  their  only  access  to  the  world,  and 
through  which  alone  could  cotton  be  shipped  to  pur- 
chase ships,  arms  and  supplies,  and  the  articles  pur- 
chased brought  into  the  Confederacy. 


84  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Johnston  insisted  that  if  he  did  not  crush  McClellan 
the  ports  would  go  anyhow;  if  he  did  crush  his  adver- 
sary the  ports  Would  promptly  fall  back  into  the  hands 
of  the  victors. 

It  was  the  old  difference  about  defending  lines  and 
positions,  and  protecting  the  country  from  invasion. 
Johnston  insisted  that  that  was  antiquated  war.  It  had 
been  practicable  under  the  old  conditions,  but  that  with 
modern  arms  and  movements  and  ideas,  when  prompt- 
ness is  the  first  requisite,  when  celerity  is  one  of  the 
highest  military  virtues,  when  an  army  accomplishes 
as  much  with  its  legs  as  with  its  hands,  other  methods 
of  applying  the  principles  of  war  must  be  devised. 

The  medieval  knight,  with  two  hundred  weight  of 
iron  on  him,  and  another  on  his*  horse,  mounted  on  an 
immense  cart  horse,  of  heavy  draft,  to  carry  such  a  bur- 
den, armed  with  a  sixteen-foot  pole  and  an  iron-bound 
maul,  called  lance,  and  battle  axe,  would  have  stood  no 
chance  with  one  of  Stuart's  horsemen.  A  light  cavalry- 
man of  the  First  Virginia  would  have  ridden  around 
King  Arthur  or  Sir  Launcelot  half  a  dozen  times,  while 
the  knight  was  bracing  himself  up  for  action,  and  the 
Chicopee  sabre  would  have  searched  out  the  joints  under 
his  chin,  or  his  arm,  or  above  his  sword  belt,  and  would 
have  shucked  him  like  an  oyster  before  he  could  get  his 
lance  in  rest. 

The  Spaniards,  said  Johnston,  are  the  only  people 
who  have  attempted  to  defend  fortified  lines  and  posi- 
tions covering  a  country  in  modern  war. 

We  must  use  all  our  resources.     We  must  make  up  n 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  85 

celerity  what  we  lack  in  numbers.  Increase  the  velocity, 
and  the  inferior  weight  will  have  the  greater  momentum. 
This  was  the  argument,  and  his  statement  of  the  case. 
But  Mr.  Davis  and  Gen.  Lee  were  unable  to  agree  with 
him. 

Some  brigades  were  brought  from  Norfolk  and  North 
Carolina,  and  by  the  latter  part  of  May  his  force  was 
increased  to  74,000  effectives.  McClellan  moved  up 
and  occupied  the  opposite  side  of  the  Chickahominy. 
There  were  two  things  to  be  prepared  for  by  him.  One 
was  to  reach  out  and  take  McDowell  by  the  hand  at 
Fredericksburg,  so  that  when  he  was  ready  to  strike,  he 
might  have  McDowell's  force  crushing  in  Johnston's 
left.  Another  and  equally  important  matter  was  that  the 
army  in  the  valley  under  Jackson  should  be  prevented 
from  reinforcing  Johnston. 

He  was  first  to  secure  McDowell's  reinforcement  for 
himself,  and  second  to  prevent  Johnston  from  having 
Jackson. 

He  exactly  failed  in  both,  and  failed  because 
Johnston's  precise  knowledge  of  the  art  of  war  was 
larger  than  his. 

Johnston  knew  the  valley.  He  had  studied  it  when 
he  was  at  Harper's  Ferry  in  June,  1861.  He  appreciated 
the  value  of  the  parallel  mountain  chains  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  the  Massanutton,  and  the  North  Mountain, 
which  might  be  used  as  curtains,  behind  which  great 
movements  could  be  concealed,  or  as  fortifications  to 
protect  the  flanks  of  an  advancing  or  retreating  army. 

If  the  valley  could  be  utilized   for  disarranging  the 


86  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Federal  plan  of  campaign,  Johnston  would  be  afforded 
an  opportunity  of  crushing  McClellan  before  McDowell 
could  reach  him. 

Jackson  had  about  7,000  men,  and  was  soon  rein- 
forced by  Ewell  with  8,000  more. 

With  his  own  force  he  attacked  and  drove  back 
Milroy  at  McDowell  on  May  8;  reinforced  by  Ewell  he 
attacked  and  routed  Banks  at  Strasburg  and  Winches- 
ter, May  24;  he  threatened  to  cross  the  Potomac  and 
take  Washington  in  rear  May  26th  and  27th. 

In  the  meantime,  while  these  events  were  transpiring, 
McClellan  was  not  idle.  He  sent  Fitz  John  Porter 
on  his  extreme  right  to  open  communications  with 
McDowell.  Porter  attacked  and  defeated  Branch  at 
Hanover  court-house,  and  took  possession  of  the  bridges 
below  Hanover  Junction  where  the  railroads  from  Fred- 
ericksburg  and  the  Valley  of  Virginia  intersect  each  other 
and  cross  the  North  Anna,  the  Middle  river  and  the  South 
Anna  over  six  high,  long  wooden  bridges.  There  Porter 
found  McDowell's  scouts,  and  the  way  was  therefore 
open.  Why  he  did  not  burn  the  bridges  he  does  not 
explain,  but  it  is  inferred  that  he  proposed  to  keep  them 
for  the  use  of  McDowell.  In  fact  he  did  preserve  them 
for  the  use  of  Jackson.  He  reported  that  he  had 
destroyed  all  of  the  bridges  by  the  hands  of  Major 
Lawrence  William's  Sixth  United  States  Cavalry.  But 
he  is  mistaken;  some,  not  all,  were  burned,  and  the  way 
to  the  valley  was  left  intact. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  McClellan  had  crossed  Heint- 
zleman's  and  Key's  corps  to  the  west  side  of  the 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE,  87 

Chickahominy,  leaving  Sumner,  Franklin  and  Porter's 
corps  on  the  east  or  north  side.  Heintzleman  and  Keys 
immediately  began  to  intrench,  advancing  as  they  dug. 
They  came  on  step  by  step,  forming  four  lines  of  earth- 
works of  a  division  each,  and  made  themselves  reason- 
ably secure.  Bottom's  bridge  is  over  the  stream  only  a 
short  distance  below  the  point  where  the  York  river 
railroad  crosses  it. 

The  other  three  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
Johnston  hoped  and  expected,  would  be  separated  from 
the  two  corps  by  a  dangerous  and  treacherous  river, 
and  by  a  constantly  increasing  interval  which  would 
give  him  the  opportunity  to  beat  one  wing  before  the 
other  could  come  to  his  assistance. 

The  attack  by  Porter  on  Branch  at  Hanover  court- 
house, seemed  to  give  the  waited-for  opportunity, 
especially  as  Branch  reported  on  the  27th  that  McDowell 
was  in  march  to  grasp  Porter's  extended  hand.  It  was 
therefore  of  pressing  importance  that  McClellan  should  be 
attacked  before  his  disconnected  wings  could  be  united, 
and  before  this  great  reinforcement  could  reach  him. 
On  the  28th,  Johnston  made  arrangements  to  attack 
McClellan's  right  wring,  by  passing  A.  P.  Hill  over  the 
Meadow  bridge  for  that  purpose.  G.  W.  Smith  and 
A.  P.  Hill  were  to  strike  the  extreme  right,  Magruder 
and  Hughes  crossing  the  Chickahominy  at  the  New 
Bridge  were  to  interpose  between  the  Federal  left  wing 
and  the  Chickahominy,  while  Longstreet  and  D.  H.  Hill 
were  to  attack  the  twro  advanced  corps,  thus  cut  off  from 
their  supports.  During  the  night  of  the  29th,  Gen. 


88  LITE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Stuart  brought  infoVmation  that  McDowell  had  moved 
back  to  Fredericksburg.  In  point  of  fact,  Jackson's 
demonstration  that  day  and  the  day  before  on  the 
Potomac  at  Williamsport,  Sheppardstown  and  Harper's 
Ferry,  had  panicked  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and 
they  had  pulled  McDowell  back  to  the  defence  of  the 
capital.  Neither  Jackson's  movements,  nor  the  reason 
for  McDowell's,  were  however  known  at  Johnston's 
headquarters  on  the  night  of  May  29. 

It  was  only  certain  that  there  was  no  immediate  stress 
to  attack,  so  as  to  be  ahead  of  McDowell,  and  reverting 
to  the  mathematics  of  battle,  to  which  Johnston's  mind 
went  with  the  precision  of  an  operation  of  nature,  he 
determined  that  there  was  no  use  fighting  McClellan's 
whole  army,  when  he  had  two-fifths  of  it  cut  off  and 
detached  and  separated  to  his  hand.  So  A.  P.  Hill  was 
recalled,  and  recrossed  the  Chickahominy  without  hav- 
ing been  discovered. 

On  May  30,  Johnston  struck  out  a  terrific  blow  with 
his  right.  He  precipitated  twenty-three  "of  his  twenty- 
seven  brigades  upon  Heintzleman  and  Keys.  Longstreet 
was  in  main  charge,  owing  to  the  location  of  his  troops, 
although  G.  W.  Smith  was  entitled  to  it  on  account  of 
his  rank. 

The  other  four  brigades  were  observing  the  river, 
from  the  New  bridge  up  to  Meadow  bridge. 

After  the  disposition  for  the  attack  had  been  made, 
the  orders  of  battle  copied  out  and  distributed,  and  the 
Major-Generals  instructed  in  personal  interviews  with 
the  General  commanding,  it  came  on  to  rain,  in  that 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  89 

phenomenal  manner,  in  which  it  sometimes  does  rain  in 
Virginia. 

The  placid  Chickahominy  spread  itself  out  from  a-half 
to  two  miles  wide,  and  every  little  rivulet  and  spring 
branch  which  contributed  to  it  assumed  embarrassing 
proportions. 

The  swamps  became  bogs,  the  streams  serious  impedi- 
ments, for  no  man  can  tell  the  depth  of  water  which 
spreads  over  a  hundred  yards  of  meadow. 

The  attack  was  intended  to  have  been  made  early  in 
the  day.  The  troops  did  not  actually  get  into  collision 
until  3  P.  M.  The  atmosphere  was  in  such  a  peculiar 
condition  that  although  Gen.  Johnston  was  only  three 
miles  off,  on  a  hill,  waiting  to  hear  Longstreet's  attack, 
the  first  musketry  he  or  the  staff  heard  was  at  4.30  P. 
M.,  when  there  had  been  a  terrific  battle  of  infantry 
raging  for  an  hour  and  a-half. 

The  onslaught  of  Longstreet  drove  back  the  first  line, 
the  second  line,  the  third  line,  all  the  lines  of  the 
Federal  army.  They  were  routed,  rolled  up,  disorgan- 
ized. At  nightfall  came  Surraier,  over  the  flood  and  the 
swinging  bridge,  to  the  assistance  of  his  comrades. 
But  he  was  too  late,  the  battle  was  irretrievably  lost 
before  he  got  up. 

About  7  o'clock  P.  M.,  that  is,  on  May  30,  about 
sundown,  Gen.  Johnston  naively  records,  that  he 
received  a  slight  wound  in  the  right  shoulder  from 
a  musket  ball,  and  a  few  moments  after  was  unhorsed 
by  a  heavy  fragment  of  shell  which  struck  his  breast. 
Now  this  is  an  uncommon  incident. 


90  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

No  great  soldier  that  I  can  recall  ever  got  struck  by 
a  musket  ball,  and  a  few  minutes  after  was  knocked  off 
his  horse  by  a  fragment  of  shell.  Colonels  often  meet 
with  such  casualties.  Its  their  business  to  be  with  the 
line  of  fire.  Brigadier-Generals  sometimes  get  hit  in 
this  way,  Major-Generals  rarely,  but  Commanding- 
Generals  never  before. 

The  responsibilities  of  rank  are  well  defined.  The 
larger  the  responsibility  the  more  valuable  the  life  that 
bears  it  becomes.  If  a  thousand  lives  depend  on  the 
officer,  his  life  is  a  thousand  times  as  valuable  as  that 
of  any  one  of  the  men  in  line. 

It  is  the  duty  of  inferior  officers  to  lead  their  men,  of 
superiors  to  keep  their  heads  cool,  and  to  invigorate  and 
strengthen  the  people  under  them  by  the  consciousness 
of  being  directed  and  moved  by  a  higher  intelligence ; 
therefore,  it  has  got  to  be  an  axim,  that  the  General  in 
command  must  not  go  under  fire. 

Napoleon  is  said  to  have  done  it  at  the  Bridge  of 
Arcola,  but  he  was  then  young  and  inexperienced.  He 
ought  to  have  had  fifty  captains  or  twenty  colonels  who 
would  have  led  that  charge. 

Gen.  Lee  certainly  attempted  to  do  it  at  Spottsylvania, 
when  his  lines  were  carried  with  a  rush,  and  Grant  was 
pouring  Hancock's  corps  through  the  gap  on  him.  He 
headed  the  Texans  then,  for  unless  he  then  and  there 
saved  the  battle,  his  life  was  of  no  value  to  his  army, 
for  that  would  have  been  gone. 

But  the  chivalric  instincts  of  those  veteran  heroes 
corrected  that  false  move.  "Go  back,"  said  they,  "go 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  9! 

back,  we'll  attend  to  this,"  and  a  private  in  the  ranks, 
seizing  his  horse  by  the  bridle,  led  back  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army  submissively,  obeying  the  order  of 
the  men  in  the  ranks. 

At  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines  there  was  not  the  same 
experience.  It  was  really  the  first  close  and  bloody 
fight  of  the  war,  and  Gen.  Johnston  had  no  business 
being  in  a  place  where  a  piece  of  a  shell  knocked  him 
off  his  horse,  a  few  moments  after,  being  struck  by  a 
musket  ball.  He  had  no  right  to  be  within  musket  range. 

But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  he  was  handling 
the  hope  of  the  Confederacy  in  its  struggle  with  the 
supreme  effort  of  the  Federal  side ;  success  was  life  and 
failure  was  death;  and  by  his  constant  presence  with 
the  troops,  he  gave  confidence  and  encouragement  to 
men  he  had  "already  come  to  value  as  the  most  dashing, 
as  they  were  the  most  enduring  of  soldiers.  Johnston 
was  carried  from  the  field,  and  G.  W.  Smith,  the  rank- 
ing Major-General,  assumed  command  that  night  and 
until  noon,  May  31,  when  Gen.  Lee  was  assigned  to 
command  the  army. 

When  Johnston  was  wounded,  the  fighting  was  over 
for  that  day.  The  next  day,  Sunday,  the  Confederates 
gathered  three  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners,  six  thousand 
seven  hundred  muskets  and  rifles  as  good  as  new,  a 
garison  flag  and  four  regimental  colors,  with  a  great 
quantity  of  ordnance  commissary,  quartermaster  and 
medical  stores  and  tents. 

The  Chickahominy  was  high,  and  the  two  parts  of 
the  Federal  army  separated  by  it,  and  Johnston  at  Rich- 


92  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

mond  fretted  because  the  attack  was  not  pushed.  The 
Confederates  had  thirteen  brigades,  some  of  which  had 
lost  tremendously,  but  they  had  beaten,  routed  and 
demoralized  two  Federal  corps. 

Sumner's  corps,  which  had  crossed  to  their  assistance, 
was  six  miles  off  at  Fair  Oaks.  And  the  Confederates 
could  have  defeated  Sumner  before  Heintzleman  could 
get  to  him,  and  then  have  used  up  Heintzleman  and 
Keys  at  their  pleasure. 

But  the  loss  of  the  commander-in-chief  in  battle 
disarranged  everything.  Plans  that  had  been  thought 
out  for  days  and  nights,  movements  that  had  been 
worked  out  by  measurements  of  time  and  distances,  all 
the  parts  of  that  most  exquisitely  constructed  machine, 
an  army,  which  are  in  entire  and  perfect  control  of  the 
general,  must  be  taken  up  anew  by  his  successors.  As 
a  general  thing,  the  adjutant-general  of  the  command  is 
better  qualified  to  take  charge  of  an  army  in  battle  when 
the  commander-in-chief  is  lost,  than  any  subordinate 
general,  no  matter  how  well  qualified.  G.  W.  Smith 
was  a  soldier  of  the  highest  accomplishments.  His 
natural  ability  was  exceeded  by  no  one  on  either  side, 
but  the  twenty  hours  in  which  he  was  in  supreme  com- 
mand gave  him  no  chance  to  take  hold  of  his  weapon 
and  wield  it  as  he  could  have  wielded  it.  If  Johnston 
had  not  fallen  on  the  3ist  of  May,  Sumner  would  have 
been  destroyed,  and  both  Heintzleman  and  Keys  would 
have  been  captured.  Holmes  and  Ripley  brought  up 
eight  thousand  men  on  June  ist,  and  with  this  reinforce- 
ment to  the  Confederates,  McClellan  would  never  have 
changed  his  base. 


THE    LINES    OF    CENTREVILLE.  93 

This  is  speculation;  but  Johnston  had  arranged  the 
campaign,  had  placed  the  troops,  had  accomplished 
everything  he  had  undertaken,  and  it  was  his  plan  to 
keep  McClellan  divided,  and  to  destroy  him  in  detail. 
It  can  fairly  be  inferred  that  he  would  have  succeeded. 
But  Johnston's  chaper  of  Virginia  history  was  closed. 
He  never  afterward  commanded  troops  in  Virginia.  His 
Army  of  the  Potomac  became  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  under  Lee,  and  Johnston  did  not  report  for  duty 
until  November  12,  1862. 

This  battle,  called  by  the  Federals  Fair  Oaks,  and 
by  the  Confederates  Seven  Pines,  was  one  of  the  closest, 
most  hotly  contested,  and  bloody  of  the  war.  On  the 
Federal  side  were  the  Second  Army  Corps,  Brigadier- 
General  Sumner;  Third  Army  Corps,  Brigadier-General 
Heintzleman,  and  Fourth  Army  Corps,  Brigadier-General 
Keys,  with  an  aggregate  present  for  duty  of  51,543. 
Johnston's  whole  army  showed,  on  May  21,  present 
for  duty  53,688.  The  three  divisions  actually  in  battle, 
Longstreet,  D.  H.  Hill  and  G.  W.  Smith,  contained 
an  aggregate  of  35,559.  The  Union  troops  actually 
engaged  on  June  ist,  was  about  14,000. 

The  Confederates  were  about  8,300.  In  the  two 
days  fighting  of  May  3ist  and  June  ist,  the  Federal 
loss  was  5,031,  and  the  Confederate  loss  6,134. 

Anderson's  North  Carolina  Brigade  lost  740  out  of 
2,065.  The  Sixth  South  Carolina,  out  of  521  taken 
into  action,  left  269  on  the  ground.  The  Twenty- 
Seventh  Georgia,  out  of  392,  lost  145,  and  out  of  the 
color  guard  of  the  Fifth  South  Carolina  of  eleven  men, 
ten  were  shot  down. 


94  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    ARMY    OF    THE    SOUTHWEST. 

/"~"\N  November  24th,  1862,  Johnston  received  orders 
^-^  assigning  him  to  the  command  of  the  depart- 
ments of  Gen.  Bragg,  Lieut.-Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith,  and 
Lieut.-Gen.  Pemberton.  Bragg's  army  had  just  returned 
from  his  Kentucky  campaign,  and  was  at  Murfreesboro, 
in  observation  of  the  army  of  Gen.  Rosecrans  near 
Nashville.  Pemberton  had  garrisons  at  Vicksburg  and 
Port  Hudson,  and  an  active  army  of  twenty-three 
thousand  men  on  the  Tallahatchie,  watching  Grant 
with  forty-three  thousand  men  at  Holly  Springs. 

Lieut.-Gen.  Holmes  had  about  fifty-five  thousand 
men  at  Little  Rock,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi. 
Johnston  proposed  to  Randolph,  the  Confederate  Secre- 
tary of  War,  that  Holmes  should  be  ordered  across  the 
Mississippi  to  unite  with  Pemberton,  that  he,  Johnston, 
with  this  combination  of  seventy-eight  thousand  men, 
would  fall  on  Grant  and  extinguish  him,  and  then  uniting 
with  Bragg  they  would  move  on  Rosecrans  and  over- 
whelm him. 

Mr.  Randolph  showed  Johnston  an  order  which  he 
had  prepared,  anticipating  his  application,  and  directing 
the  exact  movement  that  he  had  just  suggested ;  but  at 
the  same  time  he  showed  him  an  order  by  the  President 
countermanding  that  by  the  Secretary  of  War. 

In  a  few  days  Randolph  resigned,  whether  on  account 


THE    ARMY    OF    THE    SOUTHWEST.  95 

of  this  incident  I  do  not  know,  but  Johnston  went  to  the 
Southwest  without  that  firm  support  that  a  commanding 
officer  ought  to  have  in  the  high  councils  of  his  superiors. 

Owing  to  railroad  accidents  and  delays,  Johnston  did 
not  reach  Chattanooga,  which  had  been  designated  for 
his  headquarters  until  December  4. 

In  a  few  weeks  President  Davis  visited  the  armies  in 
person  and  had  personal  interviews  with  Johnston,  Bragg 
and  Pemberton.  He  advised  that  Johnston  should  rein- 
force Pemberton  from  Bragg,  Johnson  insisting  that 
Pemberton's  reinforcements  must  be  drawn  from  Holmes 
in  the  trans-Mississippi  ;  that  the  battle  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  Missouri  and  the  security  of  Arkansas  and  the 
retention  of  the  Mississippi  must  first  be  fought  against 
Grant,  and  then  against  Rosecrans,  and  that  Holmes 
must  be  brought  across  the  river  and  united  with  Pem- 
berton. It  was  the  old  difference  of  opinion,  the  original 
divergence  between  the  President  and  Commander-in- 
chief  and  the  head  of  the  second  army  of  the  Confed- 
eracy. One  was  for  holding  on  to  lines,  and  protecting 
territory,  the  other  was  for  abandoning  territory,  con- 
centrating on  interior  lines,  destroying  his  enemy,  in 
detail,  and  thus  eventually  securing  the  country,  and 
positions  abandoned,  to  accomplish  this  result.  Mr. 
Davis  finding  Johnston  impracticable,  ordered  a  division 
from  Bragg  to  Pemberton,  and  the  order  transferring 
Stevenson's  division  from  Murfreesboro  to  Jackson  with 
McCown's  brigade  was  actually  issued  in  the  name  of 
the  President,  and  not  in  the  name  of  the  general  com- 
manding. This  was  discourteous—  was  temper.  It 


96  LIFE    OF   GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

could  only  indicate  a  condition  of  things  which  must 
inevitably  lead  to  disaster.  Johnston  ought  to  have 
been  made  to  issue  the  orders  required  of  him,  or  he 
ought  to  have  been  relieved.  No  order  ought  to  have 
gone  over  his  head  to  any  subordinate. 

The  President  met  the  General  Assembly  of  Missis- 
sippi about  ipth  December,  where  it  had  been  convened 
by  Gov.  Pettus,  for  the  purpose  of  calling  out  the 
whole  military  force  of  the  State  to  support  Pemberton. 
Johnston  found  the  fortifications  at  Vicksburg,  and  as 
he  saw  by  a  map  of  them  those  at  Port  Hudson,  so  large 
that  they  each  required  twelve  thousand  five  hundred 
men  to  hold  them. 

Grant  was  between  the  two  armies  of  Pemberton  and 
Bragg,  with  a  force  superior  to  either  of  them.  There 
was  danger  that  he  would  destroy  them  in  detail,  and 
then  capture  Vicksburg.  Finding  himself  unable  to 
carry  out  the  strategy  which  he  believed  was  the  only 
safe  policy,  and  being  incapable  of  converting  the 
President  to  his  views,  Gen.  Johnston  requested  to  be 
relieved  from  the  responsibility  for  two  armies  so  widely 
separated  as  Pemberton's  and  Bragg's.  The  President 
declined  to  gratify  him,  for  the  reason  that  the  field  of 
operation  was  so  far  from  the  headquarters  of  military 
affairs,  it  was  necessary  to  have  an  officer  of  sufficient 
rank,  to  supervise,  and  direct,  near  to  the  scene  of 
operations. 

As  soon  as  Rosecrans  heard  of  the  detachment  of 
troops  from  Bragg  to  Pemberton,  he  moved  out  to  attack 
the  former.  This  he  did  on  December  31,  1862,  and 


THE    ARMY    OF    THE    SOUTHWEST.  97 

the  battle  -was  continued  during  the  ist,  2d  and  3d  of 
January.  Bragg,  on  the  next  day,  withdrew  across 
Duck  river. 

At  this  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Bragg  reports  his 
force  at  thirty  thousand  infantry  and  artillery  and  five 
thousand  cavalry,  and  his  loss  at  ten  thousand,  including 
twelve  hundred  severely  wounded  and  three  hundred 
sick  left  in  Murfreesboro. 

He  captured  "over  thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  six 
thousand  prisoners,  six  thousand  small  arms,  nine  colors, 
ambulances  and  other  valuable  property,"  and  destroyed 
eight  hundred  loaded  wagons. 

Rosecrans  reports  that  he  had  forty-three  thousand 
four  hundred  infantry,  of  whom  nine  thousand  two 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  were  killed  and  wounded,  and 
three  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty  were  made 
prisoners,  a  total  loss  of  twelve  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  seventeen. 

January  and  February  were  occupied  in  directing 
Pemberton  in  resisting  a  movement  against  Vicksburg 
by  way  of  transports  up  the  Yazoo;  in  organizing  a 
body  of  cavalry  and  sending  it  into  Tennessee  under 
Van  Dorn  to  occupy  territory  there,  so  as  to  enable  Gen. 
Bragg  to  feed  his  army  from  that  quarter,  and  in  dis- 
patching Wheeler  with  his  cavalry  to  break  the  Federal 
communications  northward  from  Nashville. 

On  March  pth,  Johnston  was  ordered  to  relieve 
Bragg,  to  take  command  of  his  army,  and  direct  him  to 
report  to  Richmond. 

On  reaching  Tullahoma,    on  the    i8th,    he   assumed 


98  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

command  of  the  army  there,  but  did  not  communicate 
to  Bragg  the  order  directing  him  to  report  to  the  war 
department,  because  Mrs.  Bragg  was  very  ill  and  her 
death  momentarily  expected. 

In  a  few  days  Johnston  became  so  seriously  ill  as  to 
incapacitate  him  for  duty,  and  Bragg  resumed  command 
of  the  Army  of  Tennessee. 

The  Mississippi  river  was  controlled  by  the  Federals 
from  its  mouth  to  Port  Hudson,  and  from  Vicksburg 
north.  That  part  of  the  river  between  these  two  forti- 
fied positions  was  open  to  the  Confederates,  and  was  the 
route  by  which  communication  was  had  with  the  trans- 
Mississippi. 

About  the  middle  of  March  some  Federal  gun  boats 
ran  by  the  batteries  at  Port  Hudson,  and  thus  the  value 
of  the  two  fortified  points  on  the  river  was  greatly 
impaired,  if  not  entirely  destroyed. 

Grant,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi,  was 
employed  in  cutting  a  canal,  so  as  to  enable  transports 
and  gunboats  to  get  by  the  batteries  of  Vicksburg. 

By  the  middle  of  April  this  enterprise  was  abandoned, 
and  Grant  marched  his  whole  army  to  a  point  on  the 
west  bank  below  Vicksburg  and  above  Port  Hudson. 
His  war  vessels  and  transports  then  ran  by  Vicksburg  in 
the  night. 

Grant  promptly  crossed  to  the  east  side  and  began  at 
once  a  series  of  movements  and  maneuvers,  which,  for 
vigor,  skill,  genius  and  courage,  have  hardly  ever  been 
equalled,  and  certainly  never  excelled.  He  moved 
promptly  in  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  isolated  it  from  all 


THE    ARMY    OF    THE    SOUTHWEST.  99 

reinforcements,  and  in  due  course  reduced  and  cap- 
tured it. 

On  May*9,  Gen.  Johnston  was  ordered  to  "proceed 
at  once  to  Mississippi,  and  take  chief  command  of  the 
forces  there,  giving  to  those  in  the  field,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, the  encouragement  and  benefit  of  your  personal 
direction."  He  replied:  "Your  dispatch  of  this  morn- 
ing received.  I  shall  go  immediately,  although  unfit  for 
field  service."  He  left  in  the  next  train  for  Jackson, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  evening  of  May  13.  He  imme- 
diately telegraphed  to  the  Secretary  of  War:  "I 
arrived  this  evening,  finding  the  enemy  in  force  between 
this  place  and  General  Pemberton,  cutting  off  the  com- 
munication. I  am  too  late"  Johnston  found  in  Mis- 
sissippi, subject  to  his  orders,  and  which  could  be  con- 
centrated, combined  and  organized  into  an  army,  about 
25,000  men  of  all  arms.  They  were  at  Canton,  at 
Jackson,  and  at  other  places.  All  supplies  of  ammuni- 
tion and  material  were  shut  up  in  Vicksburg  and  Port 
Hudson.  Johnston  was  obliged,  not  only  to  organize, 
but  to  provide  transportation  and  supplies  of  all  sorts  for 
an  army.  On  June  8th  he  reports  that  "the  artillery  is 
not  yet  equipped." 

In  the  meantime  Grant  had  invested  Vicksburg,  and 
protected  himself  with  intrenchments  from  attack  by 
Johnston.  The  latter  informed  the  War  Department 
that  there  was  no  hope  of  saving  Vicksburg,  that 
the  only  thing  practical  that  could  be  done  was  to  save 
Pemberton's  army.  But  it  would  require  the  whole  of 
Bragg's  Army  of  Tennessee  to  be  given  him,  to  enable 


IOO  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 

him  to  beat  Grant,  and  such  a  movement  of  Bragg's 
army  would  be  equivalent  to  giving  up  Tennessee.  The 
government  must  take  the  responsibility,  and  be  the 
judge  of  what  was  best. 

It  was  the  old  question  of  abandoning  territory  to 
combine  on  the  enemy,  and  the  old  question  was 
answered  in  the  old  way.  Vicksburg  was  lost,  and 
with  it  Pemberton's  army. 


THE    VICKSBURG    CAMPAIGN.  IOI 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    VICKSBURG    CAMPAIGN. 

GEN.  Johnston  was  directly  charged  by  President 
Davis  with  being  responsible  for  the  disaster  at 
Vicksburg  and  the  loss  of  Pemberton's  army.  It  is 
proper,  therefore,  to  examine  the  operations  of  the  cam- 
paign in  Mississippi,  and  to  make  clear  what  did  occur, 
what  did  not  occur,  and  what  were  the  moving  causes 
for  events  there.  The  control  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
early  in  the  war,  became  a  prime  object  in  the  strategy 
of  the  Federal  generals.  This  obtained  by  their  arms, 
the  Confederates  would  be  divided,  and  the  vast  territory 
of  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  rich  in 
supplies  of  material  and  men,  would  be  cut  off,  and 
could  be  overcome  and  reduced  in  detail. 

The  possession  of  the  river  was  thus  of  incalculable 
importance  to  the  Confederates.  They  raised,  organ- 
ized and  established  an  army  of  55,000  men  under 
Lietenant-General  Holmes  in  the  Trans-Mississippi 
Department,  with  headquarters  at  Little  Rock,  the  capi- 
tal of  Arkansas,  and  an  army  in  Louisiana  under  Major- 
General  Dick  Taylor. 

They  fortified  the  positions  at  VicKsburg  and  Port 
Hudson  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  about  four 
hundred  miles  apart  by  the  river,  and  one  hundred  miles 
by  the  roads  on  the  east  side.  The  course  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi is  the  most  tortuous  in  the  world.  Its  current 
flows  in  every  direction — south,  east  and  west. 


IO2  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Where  its  immense  flood  has  cut  away  a  bank  of 
alluvion  until  it  reaches  a  rocky  bluff,  it  turns  short 
round  on  itself,  and  flows  back  in  the  direction  from 
which  it  comes,  thus  making  loops,  miles  in  extent,  but 
the  sides  of  which  are  only  a  few  miles  apart.  Vicks- 
burg  is  situated  on  a  high  bluff  at  the  end  of  one  of 
these  loops. 

In  the  Northeast  section  of  the  State  of  Mississippi 
rises  the  Big  Black  River,  which  flows  in  a  Southwest- 
erly course  until  it  empties  into  the  Mississippi,  just 
above  Grand  Gulf,  probably  seventy  miles  below  Vicks- 
burg  by  land. 

The  Yazoo  flows  from  the  Northeast,  and  enters  the 
Mississippi  nine  miles  north  of  Vicksburg. 

Lieutenant-General  John  C.  Pemberton  commanded 
the  Confederate  Army  of  Mississippi,  and  the  posts  at 
Port  Hudson  and  Vicksburg.  He  had  six  thousand 
men  at  Port  Hudson,  under  Major-General  Gardner, 
and  about  twenty-six  thousand  under  his  direct  com- 
mand, of  whom  at  least  six  thousand  were  required  to 
garrison  Vicksburg. 

It  was  conceded  by  the  Confederate  officers  that 
twelve  thousand  men  to  each  place  would  be  necessary 
to  hold  the  fortifications  at  Port  Hudson  and  Vicksburg. 
Those  lines  were  too  extensive  for  the  purpose  of  their 
creation.  They  ought  to  have  been  more  contracted, 
so  as  to  concentrate  their  fire  to  hold  the  river. 

The  city  of  Jackson  is  fifty  miles  east  of  Vicksburg, 
connected  with  it  by  a  railroad,  which  was  extended 
beyond  the  Mississippi  to  Shreveport,  in  the  interior  of 
Louisiana. 


THE    VICKSBURG    CAMPAIGN.  103 

The  Federals  held  the  river  north  of  Vicksburg  and 
south  of  Port  Hudson.  The  Confederates  used  the 
intervening  stretch  of  water  to  communicate  with  their 
Trans-Mississippi  Department. 

In  the  campaign  of  1862,  Major-General  Ulysses  S. 
Grant  had  acquired  reputation  by  his  reduction  of  the 
forts  on  the  Tennessee,  and  the  force  and  vigor  of  his 
operations.  To  him  was  assigned  the  task  of  opening  the 
Mississippi,  and  the  boundless  resources  of  his  omnipo- 
tent government  were  placed  at  his  disposal. 

On  October  25th  he  was  assigned  to  command  of  the 
Department  of  the  Tennessee.  His  force,  in  round 
numbers,  consisted  of  48,500  effectives.  But  they  were 
scattered  from  Cairo  in  Illinois  to  Corinth  in  Mississippi. 

On  the  2d  of  November,  1862,  he  moved  for  the 
reduction  of  Vicksburg,  and  the  opening  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, from  Jackson  in  Tennessee  with  30,000  men. 
Pemberton,  with  about  20,000  men,  was  fortified  at  the 
Tallahatchie  river,  and  occupied  Holly  Springs  and 
Grand  Junction  on  the  Mississippi  Central  railroad. 

He  pressed  down  on  Pemberton  on  the  Tallahatchie, 
turned  his  position  and  forced  him  to  fall  back.  In 
accordance,  as  Grant  says  in  his  memoir,*  with  a 
venerable  axiom  in  war,  he  had  established  his  depot 
of  supplies  at  Holly  Springs  in  his  rear,  to  which  every- 
thing necessary  for  his  army  was  hauled  by  railroad 
from  the  North,  and  from  which  he  was  fed  and 
furnished. 

Grant  makes  this  fling  at  the  "  axiom  of  war,"  which 

'Grant's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  page  424. 


I(>4  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

"he  said  up  to  this  time  had  been  accepted,  that  large 
bodies  of  troops  must  operate  from  a  base  of  supplies, 
which  they  always  covered  and  guarded  in  all  forward 
movements." 

An  invading  army  was,  therefore,  always  tied  to  its 
base.  But  there  was  no  such  "axiom;"  no  great 
soldier  had  ever  acted  on  it;  Alexander,  Caesar,  Han- 
nibal and  Napoleon  had  always  cut  loose  from  fixed 
bases  of  supplies,  and  made  their  arms  feed  their 
mouths.  And  Grant  himself  was  at  once  forced  by  the 
inexorable  logic  of  facts  to  ignore  the  "axiom"  and  take 
care  of  himself. 

Van  Dorn  came  in  behind  him  and  burnt  up  his 
"base"  at  Holly  Springs.  If  Grant  had  then  acted  as  a 
scientific  soldier,  according  to  the  rules,  should  have 
acted,  he  would  have  fallen  back  and  changed  his  base, 
and  waited  until  communications  could  be  restored  with 
the  source  of  his  supplies. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Confederates  he  turned  out  to 
be  not  that  sort  of  a  soldier,  but  without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  sent  out  into  the  country,  seized  all  the 
borses,  mules,  wagons  and  provisions  he  could  find,  and 
made  himself  independent  and  comfortable. 

And  he  did  this  in  a  regular,  orderly,  civilized  way. 
He  took  what  he  was  obliged  to  take,  by  the  hands  of 
officers  acting  under  orders.  But  he  did  not  let  loose 
upon  an  unarmed  population  of  women  and  children, 
surrounded  by  a  servile  population  of  an  inferior  and  half 
savage  race,  hords  of  marauders,  robbers  and  mur- 
derers, and  call  them  "bummers";  to  devastate,  burn, 


THE    VICKSBURG    CAMPAIGN.  105 

rape,  murder  and  destroy;  to  disgrace  his  name  through 
future  generations,  and  dishonor  the  uniform  he  wore 
and  the  flag  under  which  he  fought. 

He  bore  a  great  soul.  He  was  a  large  man.  He 
was  a  rough  soldier.  He  struck  hard  blows  and  did 
rough  things,  but  war  is  no  holiday  spectacle,  nor  parlor 
amusement.  But  Grant  never  in  his  whole  career  as 
soldier  in  the  Union  army,  ever  did  one  thing  for  which 
his  posterity  will  blush,  or  which  his  countrymen  must 
palliate  or  excuse. 

He  foraged  in  Mississippi,  as  he  had  the  right  to  do, 
and  he  foraged  like  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman,  as  he 
was,  in  a  legal,  decent,  orderly  way. 

But  he  was  forced  to  turn  back  and  try  for  Vicksburg 
in  some  other  way.  A  great  popular  demand  had 
arisen  on  his  government,  that  the  Mississippi  should  be 
opened  by  an  expedition  down  the  stream.  That  the 
great  West  should  "hew  her  way  to  the  Gulf  with  her 
own  sword,"  as  John  Logan  had  said.  Consequently, 
Memphis  was  made  the  starting  point  for  a  new 
movement. 

Sherman  was  sent  by  water  from  that  place  down 
the  Mississippi  and  up  the  Yazoo,  to  get  into  the  rear  of 
Vicksburg,  but  he  was  driven  back  by  the  fortifications 
with  which  Pemberton  had  protected  his  flank. 

Farragut  with  a  fleet  held  the  river  below  Port  Hud- 
son, but  was  stopped  by  Gardner's  guns. 

Porter  with  another  fleet  was  prevented  from  descend- 
ing by  Vicksburg,  and  the  Confederates  had  free 
communication  with  their  Trans-Mississippi  Department 
and  the  armies  of  Dick  Taylor  and  Holmes  there. 


IO6  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Grant  took  command  at  Memphis  himself,  and  forth- 
with transferred  his  army  to  Mllllken's  Bend,  the  loop 
just  opposite  Vicksburg,  and  on  which  it  is  situated. 
On  the  northern  side  of  the  loop  is  Young's  Point,  and 
from  there  across  to  the  southern  side  is  only  a  mile. 
The  Mississippi  has  before  this  changed  its  course,  for 
Lake  Providence,  extending  along  the  west  side,  is  evi- 
dently the  ancient  channel  of  the  Father  of  Waters. 
It  is  curious  what  insignificant  incidents  influence  great 
events. 

President  Lincoln  once  in  his  life  had  gone  down  the 
river  in  a  flat-boat,  and  as  the  boat  floated  on  the  slug- 
gish current  for  days  and  days,  an  active-minded  and 
imaginative  youth  would  think  many  thoughts  and 
dream  many  dreams. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Lincoln's  dreams  ever 
called  back  pictures  of  Ponce  de  Leon  or  De  Soto  or  of 
Old  Hickory,  for  it  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  had  heard  of 
the  two  Spaniards,  and  he  only  knew  the  name  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  and  the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  The 
opening  of  the  waterway  of  the  West — their  way  to  the 
sea — inflamed  the  imaginations  of  their  young  men,  and 
of  no  one  more  than  the  President  himself. 

Some  one  suggested  that  a  canal  cut  across  the  neck 
of  Milliken's  Bend,  only  a  mile  across,  would  turn  the 
whole  force  of  the  mighty  river  into  it  and  leave  Vicks- 
burg high  and  dry,  while  the  way  to  the  sea  would  be 
open  forever. 

Gen.  Williams  had  cut  a  canal  ten  or  twelve  feet  wide 
and  as  many  deep  across  the  neck  of  Milliken's  Bend, 


THE    VICKSBURG    CAMPAIGN.  107 

and  everybody  and  the  President  thought  that  this  would 
induce  the  river  to  change  its  course,  but  it  did  not. 

Grant,  therefore,  directed  McClernand,  who  reached 
Young's  Point  before  him,  to  extend  and  enlarge  this 
work,  and  McClernand,  by  the  last  of  January,  1863, 
had  4,000  men  at  work  digging  as  hard  as  they  could. 

But  it  became  certain  that  the  river  would  not  change 
its  course  to  save  the  Union,  to  make  away  for  the  West 
to  the  sea,  or  to  gratify  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Admiral  Porter's  fleet  was  waiting  to  come  down. 
Admiral  Farragut's  fleet  was  waiting  to  come  up. 
Grant  was  digging  and  ditching  across  Millikin's  Bend, 
and  the  whole  West  was  yelling  for  their  "  way  to  the 
sea." 

In  May,  1863,  as  we  have  seen,  Johnston  was  ordered 
to  Jackson  to  take  command  of  Pemberton  and  his  Army 
of  the  Mississippi,  of  Bragg  and  his  Army  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  of  Dabney  and  his  Army  of  the  Gulf.  He 
wanted  Holmes'  army  at  Little  Rock,  of  55,000,  ferried 
across  the  Mississippi  and  concentrated  with  Pemberton, 
and  fall  on  Grant,  displayed  along  the  railroad  lead- 
ing from  Holly  Springs  north.  And  he  insisted 
upon  Holmes  instead  of  Bragg,  because  he  said 
Holmes  could  be  brought  up  so  much  sooner 
and  easier  than  Bragg,  from  Tullahoma  in  Tennessee. 
The  troops  west  of  the  Mississippi  ought,  according  to 
Johnston's  ideas  and  his  urgent  representations,  to  be 
transferred  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi,  where  they 
could  be  utilized  with  Pemberton,  Bragg  and  Maury, 
and  not  be  cut  off  in  detail,  separated  by  distance  and 


IO8  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  great  river,  from  supporting  armies.  Grant,  tired  of 
the  attempt  to  turn  the  river,  urged  the  navy  to  run  by 
the  guns  on  the  bluffs. 

On  the  I4th  of  March  Farragut  ran  the  blockade  at 
Port  Hudson  with  the  Hartford  and  the  Albatross,  and 
Porter  responded  by  passing  a  fleet  of  ironclads,  gun- 
boats and  transports  by  Vicksburg  in  the  night. 

The  river  then  was  in  possession  of  the  Federal  fleet. 
The  Confederate  communication  with  the  Trans-Missis- 
sippi was  broken,  and  Port  Hudson  and  Vicksbnrg  both 
ceased  to  be  of  value  to  them. 

As  soon  as  Johnston  was  advised  that  Holmes  and 
Dick  Taylor  were  cut  off  he  saw  that  Gardner  and  Pem- 
berton  must  soon  share  their  fate  unless  promptly  re- 
lieved. Grant  let  go  Milliken's  Bend,  leaving  only  a 
garrison  there,  and  rapidly  crossed  the  Mississippi  at 
Bruinsburg,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Black. 

His  movements  thenceforward  were  dashing  and  bril- 
liant. He  never  lost  a  moment.  He  cut  loose  from 
bases  of  supplies,  only  taking  with  him  ammunition,  and 
pushed  for  Pemberton's  rear.  Johnston  had  about 
20,000  at  Jackson.  With  Pemberton's  25,000,  and 
Holmes'  55,000,  he  could  have  overwhelmed  Grant. 

Inasmuch  as  Holmes  was  now  cut  off,  he  applied  to 
the  War  Department  at  Richmond  for  Bragg.  The 
Secretary  of  War  replied  that  Bragg  was  under  John- 
ston's command,  and  that  he  must  do  what  he  thought 
was  necessary. 

Johnston  answered  to  that,  that  the  coming  of  Bragg 
to  Mississippi  meant  the  evacuation  of  Tennessee;  that 


THE    VICKSBURG    CAMPAIGN.  109 

the  choice  between  Mississippi  and  Tennessee  was  a 
political  question,  not  a  military  one,  and  was  for  the 
civil  government  to  decide,  not  for  the  general  com- 
manding armies  in  the  field. 

And  then  arose  discussion  and  recrimination  between 
President  Davis  and  Gen.  Johnston,  which  ought  not  to 
have  occurred. 

But  Bragg  did  not  move,  and  Grant  did.  Johnston 
ordered  Pemberton  to  evacuate  Vicksburg  and  march  to 
the  northeast,  while  he  would  leave  Jackson  and  march 
to  the  northwest.  Thus  these  two  armies  would  be 
united,  and  they  could  fall  on  Grant,  who  had  cut  loose 
from  the  Mississippi,  and  his  fleet  and  was  marching  on 
Jackson. 

This  order  was  dated  May  14.  It  was  sent  in  tripli- 
cate. The  bearer  of  one  copy  was  a  Southerner,  so 
ardent  that  he  had  been  expelled  from  Memphis  by 
General  Hurlbut  on  account  of  his  vociferous  denuncia- 
tion of  the  Yankees.  His  expulsion  was  a  trick  to  get 
a  spy  into  Confederate  headquarters.  It  was  one  fre- 
quently practiced,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  always  with 
success.  Beauregard  expelled  one  in  October,  1862, 
from  Manasssa,  into  McClellan's  adjutant's  office  in 
Washington,  and  the  movement  on  Mason's  Hill  was 
prosecuted  largely  to  have  the  benefit  of  her  signals 
from  Washington. 

The  rebel  expelled  by  Hurlburt,  as  a  martyr  and  a 
zealous  partisan,  readily  got  credit  in  Jackson,  and  was 
dispatched  in  charge  of  one  copy  of  the  order  to  Pem- 
berton. He  rode  straight  to  McPherson's  lines,  deliv- 


IIO  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

ered  it  to  McPherson,  to  hand  it  to  Grant,  when  it  was 
given  back  to  the  courier  to  go  on  to  Pemberton.  It 
did  not  reach  him  until  May  i6th,  after  Grant  had 
attacked  and  beaten  him  at  Baker's  Creek.  His  answer 
was  sent  back  to  Johnston  by  the  same  hand,  was 
carried  to  Grant,  and  then  forwarded  to  Johnston. 

This  incident  was  unknown  to  General  Johnston  when 
he  wrote  his  narrative  in  1872-74. 

Pemberton  did  not  receive  Johnston's  order  in  time  to 
obey  it. 

On  May  i5th,  Johnston  again  wrote  Pemberton  that  the 
only  way  they  could  unite  was  by  the  latter  moving 
promptly  to  Clinton,  to  the  northwest  of  Jackson.  And 
Johnston  marched  his  two  brigades  sixteen  or  eighteen 
miles  toward  the  northwest  to  make  junction  with  Pem- 
berton. 

On  the  night  of  the  i6th,  he  heard  from  Pemberton 
that  he  considered  it  better  to  cut  Grant  off  from  his 
base  at  Bruinsburg,  and  had  attempted  to  do  so  when 
Grant  prevented  it  by  the  attack  at  Baker's  creek. 

It  was  then  too  late  to  get  out.  Grant  was  driving 
Pemberton  back  to  Vicksburg,  and  the  rescue  of  the 
Confederate  army  there  became  utterly  hopeless.  Grant 
invested  Vicksburg  and  constructed  a  line  of  fortifica- 
tions in  his  rear  to  protect  him  from  Johnston's  attack, 
which  were  impregnable  to  any  force  the  latter  could 
throw  against  him. 

It  is  just  to  say  that  Johnston's  view  as  to  the  with- 
drawal of  Holmes  and  Dick  Taylor  to  the  east  of  the 
Mississippi  was  without  doubt  the  sound  view,  and  if  it 


THE    VICKSBURG    CAMPAIGN.  Ill 

had  prevailed,  would  probably  have  materially  changed 
the  course  of  history.  But  it  is  equally  true  that  when 
the  President  and  Secretary  of  War  forced  on  Johnston 
the  responsibility  of  the  evacuation  of  Tennessee,  by  the 
withdrawal  of  Bragg,  and  the  concentration  of  all  the 
troops  of  his  command  against  Grant,  it  was  Johnston's 
duty  to  have  accepted  the  responsibility  and  have 
decided  the  military  question,  and  to  have  left  the 
political  one  to  take  care  of  itself. 


112  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE    GEORGIA    CAMPAIGN. 

the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  July  4,  1863,  during 
the  remainder  of  the  summer,  Johnston  was 
engaged  supervising  the  defense  of  Mobile,  where 
Maury  was  in  command,  and  in  organizing  the  debris  of 
the  Army  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  Bragg  fought  Rose- 
crans  at  Chicamauga  and  beat  him. 

The  Federal  General  was  rapidly  reinforced  from 
Grant's  army  in  Mississippi,  and  Grant  transferred  to 
command  it.  He  drove  Bragg  from  Missionary  Ridge, 
and  on  December  i8th,  Johnston  was  ordered  to  transfer 
the  command  of  the  Department  of  Mississippi  and 
East  Louisiana  to  Lieutenant-General  Polk,  and  repair 
to  Dalton  and  assume  that  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee. 
He  arrived  at  Dalton  on  the  26th,  and  assumed  com- 
mand on  the  27th  of  December. 

On  the  i8th  of  December,  President  Davis  had 
visited  the  troops  at  Demopolis,  and  on  the  2Oth,  those 
at  Enterprise.  While  there  he  transferred  General 
Hardee  and  two  brigades  to  the  Army  of  Tennessee. 

On  December  2Oth,  the  returns  of  the  army  showed 
effectives,  not  quite  36,000;  the  number  present, 
about  43,000. 

General  Bragg  estimated  Grant's  force  at  Chatta- 
nooga, Bridgeport  and  Shreveport  at  80,000.  Grant 
reports  them  at  65,000. 


THE    GEORGIA    CAMPAIGN.  11$ 

The  hard  service  of  the  preceding  campaign  had  so 
reduced  the  animals  of  the  artillery  and  transportation 
that  they  were  unfit  for  service.  The  railroad  was 
unable  to  supply  them  with  long  forage,  and  they  were 
sent  into  the  Valley  of  the  Etowah  to  recuperate. 

Many  of  the  men  were  barefooted,  and  there  was  a 
deficiency  in  the  infantry  of  six  thousand  small  arms. 

On  February  nth,  Lieutenant-General  Polk  reported 
that  Sherman  was  advancing  with  35,000  men  along  the 
railroad  toward  Mobile.  On  the  i7th,  the  President 
directed  that  Lieutenant-General  Hardee  be  sent  to  Polk 
with  three  divisions,  which  was  promptly  done. 

Grant  at  once  made  a  forward  movement  on  Dalton. 
Sherman  turned  back,  and  Hardee  returned  to  the  Army 
of  Tennessee. 

On  March  3d,  Grant,  having  been  commissioned 
Lieutenant-General,  was  ordered  to  Washington  to  take 
command  of  all  the  Armies  of  the  United  States. 

This  left  Sherman  and  Johnston  facing  each  other; 
Sherman  with  80,000  fighting  men,  Johnston  with 
40,000.  Sherman  was  at  Chattanooga,  and  Johnson  at 
Dalton — one-fourth  of  the  way  between  Chattanooga 
and  Atlanta. 

Atlanta  was  the  centre  at  which  the  railroads  from 
Southern  Georgia  met,  and  from  which  they  led  to  the 
North.  Georgia  had  got  to  be  the  source  from  which 
the  supplies  for  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  were 
largely  drawn. 

The  Confederacy  had  been  divided  by  the  fall  of 
Vicksburg  and  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi. 


114  L.IFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

The  possession  of  Atlanta  by  the  Federals  would  give 
them  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi.  They  already 
had  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Louisi- 
ana and  Texas,  and  if  Atlanta  was  lost,  nine  States 
would  have  been  conquered  and  reduced,  and  only  the 
two  Carolinas  and  Virginia  left  to  defend  the  cause  of 
the  Confederacy.  Therefore,  the  possession  of  Atlanta 
was  a  question  of  life  and  death. 

The  country  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta  is  moun- 
tainous, traversed  by  mountain  ranges  running  north 
and  south,  with  numerous  ridges  across  the  valleys  and 
bold  streams  affording  positions  for  defense.  » 

Since  Johnston  had  assumed  command  of  the  Army 
of  Tennessee,  he  had  caused  careful  surveys  to  be  made 
of  the  country  behind  him,  and  had  selected  positions 
for  defense  to  be  fortified  and  prepared. 

On  February  22,  1864,  Sherman  moved  on  John- 
ston's lines. 

Gen.  Bragg,  who  had  been  called  to  Richmond  as 
general  military  adviser  of  the  President,  if  not  General- 
in-chief,  proposed  to  Johnston  to  reinforce  him  up  to 
75,000  men,  with  which  he  was  to  move  into  Tennessee 
and  force  Sherman,  or,  as  he  said,  Grant,  to  fight  him. 
Johnston  replied  that  if  he  was  to  make  that  move,  he 
must  have  the  troops  promised  at  once,  or  it  would  be 
too  late.  They  were  not  supplied  and  Sherman  moved. 

But  the  administration  was  not  satisfied.  It  insisted 
that  Johnston  should  assume  the  offensive,  ''with  an 
army  16,000  weaker  than  that  proposed  by  Gen. 
Bragg,"  as  Johnston  says. 


THE    GEORGIA    CAMPAIGN.  115 

The  return  of  May  i,  1864,  showed  the  effective 
strength  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  to  be  42,856. 

Sherman  had  in  the  meantime  been  reinforced  by  pro- 
bably 30,000  veterans.  Polk  with  all  his  infantrv  was 
ordered  to  Johnston. 

Sherman  moved  on.  His  tactics  were  simple.  He 
moved  in  three  columns..  The  center  engaged  Johnston 
in  his  fortified  position.  Either  flanking  column  pushed 
on  by  him  as  it  found  opportunity. 

Now  one  man  cannot  fight  three  men  of  equal 
courage.  No  matter  how  he  defends  himself  against 
his  assailant  in  front,  the  one  on  his  right  or  his  left 
is  bound  to  get  behind  him  and  strike  him  a  fatal  blow. 
This  was  Grant's  move,  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  James. 
This  was  Sherman's  from  Dalton  to  Atlanta. 

Johnston  occupied  every  mountain  pass,  every  ridge 
of  hills,  every  ford,  and  fought  his  enemy  whenever  he 
attacked.  He  always  repulsed  him  in  front,  but  when 
his  flank  was  turned,  as  turned  it  must  be,  he  fell  back 
in  the  night  to  the  next  position,  with  the  'morale  of  his 
people  increased,  and  their  spirit  for  the  next  fight 
heightened. 

From  the  I2th  of  May,  back  to  Atlanta,  on  July  lyth, 
1864,  Johnston  conducted  this  masterly  retrograde  with 
the  loss  of  four  field  pieces,  disabled  and  unable  to  be 
carried  off,  in  seventy-four  days'  fighting  an  enemy  of 
more  than  double  his  numbers. 

Grant's  army,  that  had  fought  at  Missionary*  ridge, 
was  then  estimated  at  80,000  men.  It  had  been  in- 
creased by  two  corps,  one  division  and  probably  12,000 
recruits. 


Il6  .IKE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

On  June  ist,  it  contained,  according  to  the  returns, 
112,819.  On  September  ist,  it  mustered  81,758.  It 
actually  lost  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing  31,687. 
Johnston's  total  loss  was  9,972. 

These  are  the  figures  as  shown  by  the  official  returns 
of  Sherman  and  Johnston. 

The  Confederate,  confronted  -by  overwhelming  num- 
bers, seems  to  have  taken  Wellington's  retreat  in  Spain 
as  his  model.  His  object  was  to  withdraw  his  enemy 
as  far  from  his  base  and  into  a  hostile  country  as  possi- 
ble, reducing  his  numbers  and  his  morale  by  reiterated 
blows,  until  he  had  oroduced  something  like  an  eauality 
of  forces. 

Peach  Tree  Creek  runs  just  north  of  Atlanta.  It 
is  passable  by  two  fords  at  some  distance  apart.  John- 
ston's plan  was  to  strike  Sherman  as  he  was  passing 
these  fords,  hoping  to  crush  one  of  his  columns  before  the 
other  could  aid  him,  and  in  case  of  disaster,  he  had  the 
fortified  position  of  Atlanta,  which  he  had  been  preparing 
since  June,  for  just  such  a  contingency. 

No  one  can  now  say  that  his  whole  campaign  was  not 
conducted  on  the  best  principles  and  with  the  highest 
generalship. 

It  was  unjust  in  the  extreme,  to  criticise  his  policy  of 
retreat  and  fight,  of  fight  and  retreat.  Lee  in  Virginia 
had  been  pursuing  precisely  the  same  plan  since  May, 
and  had  been  forced  back  from  the  Rapidan  to  the 
James  with  no  greater  disparity  of  forces;  and  his  move- 
ment met  the  entire  sympathy  and  approval  of  the 
people  and  of  the  administration. 


THE    GEORGIA    CAMPAIGN. 

But  for  some  inscrutable  reason,  by  some  logic  even 
now  unaccountable,  there  was  a  demand  that  Johnston 
should  fight.  He  fought  every  day  for  seventy-four  days. 
That  he  should  stop  retreating.  He  did  stop  until  his 
army  was  nearly  surrounded.  That  he  should  make  a 
forward  movement.  That  he  should  move  around  his 
adversary  and  throw  himself  on  his  communications. 

Just  at  the  point  when  he  was  about  to  declare  decisive 
battle  on  his  own  terms,  he  was  ignommousiy  relieved 
and  Hood  placed  in  command. 

His  removal  was  a  shock  to  the  military  sense  of  the 
Confederacy.  Lee — subordinate,  patient,  respectful,  as 
he  ever  was — remonstrated  in  writing  to  the  Secretary 
of  War.  He  spoke  openly,  as  he  never  spoke  before  or 
since,  "That  if  General  Johnston  was  not  a  soldier, 
America  had  never  produced  one.  That  if  he  was  not 
competent  to  command  that  army,  the  Confederacy  had 
no  one  who  was  competent."  And  he  was  firm  in 
urging  that  Johnston  be  reinstated  to  command.  He 
was  relieved  September  17,  1864. 

Hood  cut  loose  from  Atlanta,  carried  out  the  pro- 
gramme directed  by  Bragg  to  Johnston  «in  the  preceding 
Spring,  moved  into  Tennessee  and  lost  his  army. 

On  February  22,  1865,  Johnston  was  directed  by 
Adjutant-General  Cooper  to  report  by  telegraph  to  Lee, 
at  Petersburg,  for  orders.  On  the  same  day  Lee 
ordered  him  to  "Assume  command  of  the  Army  *of 
Tennessee  and  all  troops  in  South  Carolina,  Georgia 
and  Florida;  assign  General  Beauregard  to  duty  under 
you  as  you  may  select.  Concentrate  all  available  forces 
and  drive  back  Sherman." 


IlS  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Johnston  had  retired  to  Lincolnton,  North  Carolina, 
and  reported  that  "It  was  too  late  to  concentrate  troops 
to  drive  back  Sherman." 

Sherman  was  then  in  South  Carolina,  moving  north 
to  unite  with  Grant. 

The  Army  of  Tennessee,  utterly  broken  up  by  the 
Tennessee  Campaign,  was  coming  into  North  Carolina 
by  regiments  and  skeleton  brigades,  and  there  was 
hardly  a* vestige  of  the  organization  of  an  army  left. 
But  Johnston  did  what  was  possible.  He  drew  together 
the  fragments  from  Charleston,  Wilmington,  and  wher- 
ever they  could  be  laid  hold  on,  and  concentrated  them 
near  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina,  to  delay  Sherman  and 
prevent  his  junction  with  Grant;  while  he  hoped  that 
Lee  might  disengage  himself  from  Richmond,  join  him, 
and  they  together  might  defeat  Sherman. 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID. 

WHEN  Johnston  turned  over  the  command  of  the 
army  to  Hood,  he  communicated  to  him  his 
plan  then  ready  to  be  executed,  and  Hood  faithfully 
tried  to  carry  it  out. 

He  attacked  Sherman  as  he  was  crossing  Peach  Tree 
creek,  but  the  removal  of  Johnston  had  taken  the  spring 
out  of  his  army,  and  he  was  badly  defeated  and  drive'n 
back.  He  at  once  withdrew  to  a  position  about  twenty 
miles  southeast  of  Atlanta,  on  the  railroad,  about  Love- 
joy's  station.  Sherman  pursued  him,  but  soon  returned 
and  occupied  Atlanta,  perfecting  his  communications 
with  the  North  and  preparing  for  future  movements. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  President  Davis  visited 
Hood  at  his  camp,  and  made  a  speech  to  the  soldiers. 
He  denounced  Johnston  for  his  Fabian  policy ;  told  the 
men  that  it  was  to  be  changed  to  the  aggressive. 

He  said  the  Yankee  army  must  either  retreat  or 
starve,  and  that  Sherman's  retreat  would  be  more  dis- 
astrous than  that  of  Napoleon's  from  Moscow.  That 
Forrest  was  already  on  the  railroad  in  Tennessee,  and 
that  they  should  soon  be  there.  Sherman  was  so  well 
served  that  a  spy  actually  heard  this  speech  and  reported 
it  the  following  morning  to  him.  He  telegraphed  it 
North. 

It  gave  him  the  whole  policy  of  his  adversary's  cam- 


I2O  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

paign,  and  enabled  him  to  prepare  for  it.  He  sent 
Schofield  and  Thomas  back  to  Franklin  and  Nashville 
to  collect  troops  and  be  ready  for  Hood. 

In  a  few  days  Hood  began  to  move  around  Sherman 
and  go  North.  He  attacked  Altoona,  a  fortified  post  on 
the  railroad,  and  was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  Sher- 
man followed  him,  until  it  became  perfectly  certain  that 
he  was  off  for  Tennessee,  as  promised  in  Mr.  Davis' 
speech  at  Lovejoy's,  when  he  returned  to  Atlanta. 

Savannah  is  three  hundred  miles  from  Atlanta.  The 
country  between  is  rich,  well  cultivated,  had  never  seen 
an  army,  and  was  full  of  provisions.  Absolutely  every 
man  in  Georgia,  from  sixteen  to  fifty,  was  with  the  army. 
A  march  through  such  a  country  would  be  a  military 
promenade.  Hood  would  have  been  an  obstacle,  but 
Hood  had  gone  and  left  the  -gate  open. 

The  fall  of  Atlanta  was  naturally  the  subject  of  great 
rejoicing  and  much  vainglory  on  the  successful  side. 
It  meant  the  downfall  of  the  Confederacy,  and  it  para- 
lyzed all  hopes  of  success  in  the  hearts  of  the  great  mass 
of  the  people.  Sherman  and  the  Federal  authorities  had 
a  perfect  conception  of  the  importance  of  the  event,  and 
lost  no  time  in  improving  their  advantage. 

The  first  thing  Sherman  did  upon  occupying  Atlanta 
and  getting  his  railroad  communication  with  the  North 
satisfactorily  established,  was  to  drive  out  every  human 
being,  young  or  old,  male  or  female,  from  the  city,  who 
did  not  belong  to  his  army.  Pregnant  women,  women 
in  child-bed,  babies  at  the  breast,  sick  women,  puling 
infants,  were  thrust  from  their  homes  and  sent  off,  against 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.        121 

the  protests  of  the  mayor  of  Atlanta,  and  the  burning 
remonstrance  of  Hood,  who  commanded  the  Confed- 
erate Army. 

Sherman  justified  his  act  as  an  act  of  war,  and  said 
"he  was  not  dealing  with  the  humanity  of  the  question." 

The  same  in  sentiment,  but  more  brutal  even  in  expres- 
sion, was  the  language  of  another  great  Federal  General, 
as  related  by  Busch  in  his  "Bismarck  and  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War."  On  the  advance  of  the  Prussians  into 
France,  General  Sheridan,  with  two  of  his  staff  accom- 
panied the  general  headquarters. 

When  the  advance  guard  of  the  invading  army  entered 
the  village  of  Bazeilles,  it  was  fired  on  from  the  houses 
and  the  gardens,  by  citizens  or  by  Franc  tireurs,  the 
French  guerrillas.  The  village  was  rorthwith  burned 
and  razed  to  the  ground. 

The  incident  caused  great  criticism  among  the  Prus- 
sians, and  the  action  of  the  Prussian  General  who 
ordered  it  much  commented  on.  Here  is  Busch's 
account  of  the  views  of  the  American  general:  "On 
September  8th,"  says  he,  "we  had  a  great  dinner,  at 
which  the  hereditary  Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin,  and  the  three  Americans,  were  present. 

"They  spoke  of  the  different  reports  about  the  incidents 
at  Bazeilles.  The  minister  (Bismarck)  said  it  could  not 
be  tolerated,  that  peasants  should  join  in  fighting  to 
defend  places.  They  were  not  in  uniform,  and  there- 
fore when  they  throw  away  their  muskets  unnoticed, 
they  cannot  be  known  as  combatants.  The  chances 
ought  to  be  equal  for  both  sides.  Abeken  thought  the 


122  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

fate  of  Bazeilles  too  hard,  and  that  the  war  ought  to  be 
carried  on  more  humanely. 

"Sheridan,  to  whom  McLean  had  explained  the  case, 
took  a  different  view.  He  thought  the  severest  treat- 
ment of  a  population  during  a  war,  quite  justified  on 
political  grounds,  'The  main  thing,  in  true  strategy.' 
What  he  said  amounted  to  this:  'First,  deal  as  hard 
blows  at  the  enemy's  soldiers  as  possible,  and  then 
cause  so  much  suffering  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
that  they  will  long  for  peace  and  press  their  government 
to  make  it.  Nothing  should  be  left  to  the  people  but  eyes 
to  lament  the  -war.'  Rathei  heartless,  I  thought  to 
myself,  but  perhaps  worth  consideration."* 

No  such  sentiment  has  been  uttered  by  a  commanding 
General  since  Attila  or  Alva,  even  if  they  did,  which 
may  be  doubted. 

Every  writer  on  international  war,  every  authority 
who  has  laid  down  the  principles  and  practices  on,  and 
with  which  modern  civilized  war  ought  and  must  be 
carried  on,  condemns  maltreatment  of  non-combatants, 
and  forbids  plunder  or  the  appropriation  of  private 
property,  unless  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  army, 
and  then  to  be  paid  for. 

Scott  and  Taylor  in  Mexico  procured  provisions  by 
regular  details  under  responsible  officers,  and  paid  for 
them  in  hard  money. 

The  government  of  the  United  States,  bound  to  range 
itself  on  the  side  of  civilization,  employed  Dr.  Francis 
Lieber,  the  greatest  publicist  in  America,  to  prepare  a 

*Busch,  page  130. 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.        123 

code  for  the  government  of  the  American  army  in  war. 
This  code  was  published  by  authority,  and  was  the  law 
which  was  law  for  Gen.  Sherman  as  well  as  for  the 
meanest  bummer  who  flanked  his  march  and  disgraced 
his  flag. 

Section  20  of  this  code  is:  "Private  property,  unless 
forfeited  by  crimes,  or  by  offences  of  the  owner  against 
the  safety  of  the  army,  or  the  dignity  of  the  United 
States,  and  after  due  conviction  of  the  owner  by  court- 
martial,  can  be  seized  only  by  way  of  military  necessity, 
for  the  support  or  the  benefit  of  the  army  or  of  the 
United  States." 

Section  24  is:  "All  wanton  violence  committed 
against  persons  in  the  invaded  country  ;  all  destruction 
of  property  not  commanded  by  the  authorized  officers ; 
all  robbery;  all  pillage  or  sacking,  even  after  taking  a 
place  by  main  force;  all  rape,  wounding,  maiming,  or 
killing  of  such  inhabitants,  are  prohibited  under  penalty 
of  death,  or  such  other  severe  punishment  as  may  seem 
adequate  for  the  gravity  of  the  offence." 

This  code  does  not  appear  to  be  entirely  in  accord 
with  the  sentiment  of  Sheridan:  "That  the  inhabitants 
should  be^  left  only  eyes  to  weep."  But  in  September, 
1863,  it  was  the  law  which  bound  the  Federal  army, 
which  every  officer  and  every  soldier  had  sworn  to  obey. 
Sherman  cleaned  out  his  army  of  all  ineffectives:  Sick, 
disabled,  convalescents,  everybody  who  could  not  march 
was  sent  North  by  the  railroad.  By  the  last  of  Novem- 
ber he  was  ready  for  his  march  to  the  sea.  He  had 
60,000  men,  seasoned  and  toughened  by  march,  bivouac 


124  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

and  battle  for  a  year.  The  victors  at  Port  Huason, 
Grand  Gulf,  Vicksburg,  Missionary  Ridge  and  the 
pursuers  of  Johnston  for  seventy  odd  days,  always 
advancing  and  never  giving  ground.  They  were  in 
perfect  health,  in  the  highest  morale,  and  must  havr 
been  under  the  best  discipline.  With  them  he  took 
sixty-five  guns,  generally  in  four  gun  batteries,  twenty- 
five  hundred  six-mule  wagons,  and  twenty-five  hundred 
two-horse  ambulances.  The  wagons  carried  about 
twenty-five  hundred  pounds  each.  The  roads  were 
good,  wood,  water  and  provisions  plenty,  and  the 
weather  superb. 

His  general  order  for  the  march  conforms  to  the 
requirements  of  Lieber's  code.  Straggling  was  strictly 
prohibited,  and  plundering  denounced;  lest  the  straggler 
or  plunderer  in  the  enemy's  country  might  meet  a 
sudden  death. 

The  wagons  were  always  to  carry  ten  day's  rations 
and  forage  for  the  army.  And  they  always  did.  So 
there  never  was  excuse  for  plunder  or  pillage.  The 
troops  were  to  march  by  four  roads,  keeping  in  touch 
with  each  other  all  the  time,  so  that  they  could  be 
rapidly  concentrated  at  any  point  when  necessary. 

The  columns  ought  to  make  fifteen  miles  a  day,  and 
therefore  twenty  days  would  bring  them  to  th,e  sea  at 
Savannah. 

The  march  began  from  Atlanta  on  November  i5th, 
and  for  the  first  day  or  two  proceeded  in  an  orderly  and 
military  manner.  The  trains  were  properly  guarded. 
Foraging  parties  were  kept  out  on  the  flanks  in  charge 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID. 

of  quartermasters  and  commissaries,  and  provisions 
were  collected  in  a  decent,  civilized  way.  But  by  the 
end  of  two  days  it  became  evident  that  there  were  no 
white  people  left  in  the  country,  but  women  and  children, 
and  that  the  byroads,  paths  and  fields  were  as  absolutely 
safe  as  in  Central  New  York.  And  then  began  the 
saturnalia  of  the  "bummers." 

The  Federal  army  contained  regiments  from  many 
Northern  States.  In  the  ranks  were  men  whose  ances- 
tors had  died  at  Bunker  Hill  or  fallen  at  Buena  Vista. 
They  were  the  sons  of  God-fearing,  country-loving 
fathers  and  mothers,  and  were  as  high-minded,  chival- 
rous, generous  soldiers  as  ever  carried  musket  or  drew 
sabre.  But  by  their  sides,  in  no  inconsiderable  propor- 
tion, were  the  mercenaries,  who  had  enlisted  solely 
from  selfish  considerations.  They  knew  no  flag;  they 
had  no  country ;  they  never  felt  a  pulsation  of  patriotism, 
nor  a  throb  of  honest  enthusiasm.  The  commercial 
spirit,  which  understood  that  it  would  pay  better  to  give 
a  thousand  dollars  for  a  substitute,  when  a  man  was 
making  a  thousand  dollars  a  day,  by  a  contract  for 
bogus  boots,  or  shoddy  coats,  or  useless  hats,  than  to  risk 
life  or  limb  for  the  Union,  had  filled  the  army  with  the 
scum  of  the  world.  The  market  price  of  the  human 
material  rose  as  the  competition  grew  hotter. 

The  proletariat  of  the  old  world,  the  jails  and  peni- 
tiaries  of  the  new,  were  bought  up  by  commercial 
dealers,  who  sold  them  at  a  profit. 

Clubs  were  formed  for  mutual  assurance  against  the 
perils  of  patriotism  and  the  loss  of  jobs. 


126  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

A  hundred  neighbors,  all  interested  in  making  money 
out  of  the  war  for  the  Union,  and  all  profiting  by  it, 
would  form  an  association  for  protection,  that  if  one  was 
drawn  for  the  war,  the  whole  would  supply  a  substitute 
by  assessment  on  all  the  members. 

It  was  the  same  arrangement  that  has  since  blossomed 
out  as  graveyard  insurance,  or  mutual  benefit  associa- 
tion. The  consequence  was,  that  as  there  was  a  ready 
market  for  substitutes,  there  was  an  ample  supply. 
The  Bunker  Hill  Mutual  Assurance  Society,  and  Perfect 
Substitute  Association,  would  be  formed  on  the  basis  that 
each  member  would  put  in  so  much  capital,  which  was 
at  once  invested  in  substitutes,  and  that  there  should 
be  no  further  call  on  the  stockholders  until  drafts  had 
been  made  on  members  sufficient  to  exhaust  the  paid-in 
capital  of  substitutes. 

The  consequence  of  this  market  in  blood  and  bones 
was,  that  side  by  side  with  the  high-spirited  New  Eng- 
land boy,  whose  grandfather  had  stood  by  Warren,  or 
the  Illinois  farmer's  son,  whose  ancestor  had  died  at 
Tippecanoe  or  Monterey,  was  a  collection  of  the  basest, 
vilest  dregs  ever  collected  by  the  dredge  of  avarice  from 
the  bottom  of  civilization. 

In  all  the  scenes  that  followed  Sherman,  in  all  the 
gruesome  memories  of  that  fearful  march,  in  all  the 
lurid  pictures  of  crime  and  suffering,  the  only  light  is 
that  of  some  bright  young  "Yankee,"  always  American, 
who  interposes — sometimes  officer  against  private  soldier, 
sometimes  private  soldier  against  officer — to  shelter 
women,  old  men  and  children  against  the  "bummers," 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.       127 

the  outpourings  of  the  jails  and  penitentiaries  of  the 
North,  and  the  dregs  of  the  mob  in  the  Continental  cities. 

No  tongue  can  tell,  no  pen  can  paint  the  horrors  of 
that  thirty  days'  march  of  Sherman  from  Atlanta  to 
Savannah.  He  left  Atlanta  November  15,  he  reached 
Savannah  December  15 ;  and  in  that  thirty  days  was 
packed  as  much  of  human  suffering  as  ever  was  experi- 
enced in  the  same  period  in  all  the  history  of  all  time. 

The  spirit  of  the  chiefs  inspires  the  followers.  I  have 
already  shown  what  feeling  Sheridan  had. 

After  Sherman  had  reached  the  sea  he  received  this 
order  from  "H.  W.  Halleck,  Major-General,  Chief  of 

Staff": 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,          ) 
WASHINGTON,  Dec.  18,  i§63-  ) 

*  *  *  Should  you  capture  Charleston,  I  hope  that 
by  some  accident  the  place  may  be  destroyed,  and  if  a 
little  salt  should  be  sown  upon  its  site,  it  may  prevent 
the  growth  of  future  crops  of  nullification  and  secession." 

On  December  24,  1864,  Sherman  answers  this  deli- 
cate intimation  to  commit  murder,  arson  and  robbery, 
and  pretend  it  is  by  accident,  as  follows : 

"I  will  bear  in  mind  your  hint  as  to  Charleston,  and 
do  not  think  that  'salt'  will  be  necessary.  When  I 
move,  the  Fifteenth  Corps  will  be  on  the  right  of  the 
right  wing,  and  their  position  will  naturally  bring  them 
into  Charleston  first,  and  if  you  have  watched  the 
history  of  that  corps,  you  will  have  remarked  that  they 
generally  do  their  work  pretty  well ;  the  truth  is,  the 
whole  army  is  burning  with  an  insatiable  desire  to  wreak 
vengeance  upon  South  Carolina.  I  almost  tremble  for  her 

fate,   but   FEEL    THAT    SHE    DESERVES    ALL    THAT    SEEMS 

IN  STORE  FOR  HER.  *  *  *  I  look  iipon  Columbia  as  quite 
as  bad  as  Charleston,  and  I  doubt  if  we  shall  spare  the 
public  buildings  tJicrc,  as  we  did  at  Millcdgcvillc" 


128  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

The  Federal  army  marched  by  four  roads,  covering  a 
front  of  forty  miles.  It  moved  at  the  rate  of  fifteen 
mile  a  day. 

A  solid  wall  of  smoke  by  day  forty  miles  wide, 
and  from  the  horizon  to  the  zenith,  gave  notice  to  the 
women  and  children  of  the  fate  that  was  moving  on 
them.  At  early  dawn  the  black  vail  showed  the  march 
of  the  bummers.  All  day  long  they  watched  it  coming 
from  the  Northwest,  like  the  storm-cloud  of  destruction. 
All  night  it  was  lit  up  by  forked  tongues  of  flame  light- 
ing the  lurid  blackness.  The  next  morning  it  reached 
them.  Terror  borne  on  the  air,  fleet  as  the  furies, 
spread  out  ahead,  and  murder,  arson,  rapine,  enveloped 
them. 

Who  can  describe  the  agonies  of  mothers  for  their 
daughters,  for  their  babies,  for  their  old  fathers  and 
young  boys? 

This  crime  was  organized  and  regulated  with  intelli- 
gence and  method.  Every  morning  details  were  sent  in 
advance  and  on  the  flanks.  Justice  required  that  the 
men  who  remained  in  the  ranks  should  share  in  the 
advantages  of  these  details.  Of  course  energy,  enter- 
prise and  courage  made  itself  felt  at  once  among  the 
"bummers,"  and  the  more  daring  and  boldest  forthwith 
supplied  themselves  with  good  horses  and  kept  well 
mounted  by  that  means.  There  were  many  thorough- 
bred horses  in  Southern  Georgia,  and  the  stables  of  the 
rich  planters  were  stocked  with  the  best  blood  of  Vir- 
ginia and  South  Carolina. 
The  bummers  spread  themselves  over  the  whole  country 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID. 

for  miles  beyond  either  flank  of  the  marching  columns, 
and  they  robbed  everything.  The  negroes  were  no 
more  safe  than  the  whites.  The  especial  objects  of  their 
search  were  watches,  jewelry  and  women's  trinkets. 
The  old  galley  slave,  fresh  from  Toulou,  and  the 
French  hulks,  with  the  brand  on  his  shoulder  and  the 
limp  of  the  shackles  on  his  leg,  found  a  wide  field  for 
the  exercise  of  those  talents  which  had  brought  him  to 
grief  in  his  own  country. 

Between  the  thieves  and  their  accomplices,  there  was 
organized  a  rude  system. of  division,  according  to  a  law 
of  prize. 

All  valuables — gold,  silver,  jewels,  watches,  &c., 
were  to  be  brought  in  at  night  and  a  fair  division  made 
of  them  among  all  parties. 

The  captain  was  entitled  to  so  much.  The  colonel  to 
his  share.  The  general  to  his  portion. 

In  May,  1865,  a  brigadier-General  commanding  a 
cavalry  brigade  under  Major-General  Kilpatrick,  said 
that  Kilpatrick  had  a  bushel  of  watches,  trinkets, 
numerous  finger-rings  and  earrings;  of  course  in  such 
a  band  there  was  no  such  thing  as  honor,  and  the 
division  made  was  in  no  way  equal;  but  the  system 
worked.  Under  it  everybody  was  robbed,  and  everyone 
among  the  robbers  got  a  share.  Sherman  set  out  to 
leave  the  inhabitants  "nothing  but  eyes  to  weep."  He 
left  nothing  else  in  his  track,  but  one  thing,  which  he 
forgot.  He  left  them  memories  to  retain  the  imoressions 
and  the  feelings  he  created. 

General  Sherman,  in  his  memoirs,  makes  merry  over 


130  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  humors  of  the  "bummers,"  and  says  that  President 
Lincoln,  "HonestOld  Abe,"  in  the  last  interview  he  ever 
had  with  him,  in  April,  1865,  at  City  Point,  was  highly 
diverted  and  greatly  interested  in  the  "bummers." 
The  massacre  at  Glencoe  was  the  one  single  blot  upon 
the  honor  and  fame  of  William  of  Orange,  the  deliverer 
of  England.  But  the  picture  drawn  by  Macaulay  of 
that  tragedy  is  of  a  holiday  fete,  beside  the  tragic  scenes 
spread  over  hundreds  of  miles  for  months  on  the  line 
and  flank  of  Sherman's  march.  One  or  two  drawn  by 
the  actors  in  them,  will  suffice  in  this  panorama  of 
horror. 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  Judge  H ,  of  Macon,  Georgia, 

left  his  home  at  Macon  and  went  to  his  plantation  in 
Jefferson  county,  Georgia,  twelve  miles  from  a  railroad, 
in  the  Ogeechee  swamp.  His  wife  writes  this  account 
of  experiences,  that  justice  to  history  and  to  truth 
requires  should  be  put  on  record : 

"About  the  24th  of  November,  we  heard  that  Sher- 
man's Army  were  in  posession  of  Milledgeville,  and  were 
on  their  way  to  Savannah,  burning  and  destroying 
everything  in  their  course,  and  our  house  being  directly 
on  the  wagon  road  from  Milledgeville  to  Savannah,  we 
of  course,  expected  them  to  lay  everthing  in  ashes  that 
they  could  find. 

"A  few  days  afterward  we  could  hear  of  Kilpatrick's 
cavalry  all  around  us,  and  see  the  heaven's  illuminated 
at  night  with  the  glare  of  burning  gin  houses  and  other 
buildings.  We  could  hear  of  houses  being  pillaged, 
'and  old  men  being  beaten  nearly  to  death,  to  be 


I 

THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID. 

made  to  tell  where  their  money  and  treasures  were  con- 
cealed. All  these  tales  of  horror  we  heard,  and  deeply 
sympathized  with  the  sufferers,  expecting  every  hour  to 
see  the  cavalry  ride  up  and  treat  us  in  the  same  manner. 
But  to  our  great  joy  they  passed  us,  coming  no  nearer 
than  six  miles,  and  when  they  had  passed,  we  hoped 
the  main  army  would  do  the  same.  We  thought  it  best, 
however,  to  take  such  precaution  to  conceal  our  stock, 
so  as  to  prevent  them  being  found,  if  they  should  make 
us  a  visit,  and  stockades  were  built  in  the  dense  swamp 
of  the  Ogeechee,  impenetrable,  as  we  thought,  to  any 
one  not  acquainted  with  the  surroundings. 

"For  several  days,  squads  of  Wheeler's  cavalry  would 
pass,  and  tell  us  where  Sherman's  army  was,  and  of  the 
depredations  they  were  committing,  and  warn  us  to  pre- 
pare for  the  worst,  as  they  were  showing  no  mercy; 
and  on  Sunday,  November  28,  we  heard  that  the 
destroyers  were  encamped  just  above  our  upper  planta- 
tion about  four  miles  from  our  home.  That  night  the 
heavens  looked  as  if  they  were  on  fire,  from  the  glare 
of  hundreds  of  burning  houses,  and  early  Monday 
morning  a  negro  man  came  from  the  upper  plantation 
and  told  us  the}^  were  crossing  the  river,  and  that  some 
of  them  were  in  Louisville,  about  two  miles  off  ;  also 
that  they  were  searching  the  houses,  breaking  in  the 
stores  and  setting  fire  to  them,  and  killing  all  the  stock 
they  could  find.  (Stores,  in  Southern  vernacular,  means 
stores  and  supplies  of  provisions,  clothing,  &c.,  provid- 
ed for  a  plantation.  Stock,  means  live  stock.) 

''He  proposed  to  hide  a  number  of  hams  we  had  hang- 


132  LIFE    OF   GEN.   JOSEPH    K.  JOHNSTON. 

ing  up  in  the  smoke-house,  where  we  had  been  making 
salt  by  leaching  the  dirt  from  the  earthen  floor,  and  we 
gladly  accepted  the  proposition.  He  accordingly  dug 
down  about  two  feet,  laid  plank  at  the  bottom  of  the 
excavation,  laid  the  hams  on  them,  covering  them  up 
securely  and  putting  syrup  barrels  over  the  place. 

"I  told  the  cook  to  prepare  us  enough  food  to  last  us 
several  days,  as  we  would  not  be  able  to  have  anything 
cooked  while  the  Yankees  were  on  the  place.  We  also 
gave  the  negroes  one  month's  rations,  thinking  that  they 
would  be  better  able  to  keep  them  than  we  should. 

"That  morning  Mrs.  S ,  the  overseer's  wife,  and 

myself  had  gone  into  the  woods  and  buried  my  valuables. 

"Judge  H was  in  the  swamp  at  the  time  having 

the  stock  put  in  the  stockade,  and  turning  the  fattening 
hogs  out  in  the  swamp,  thinking  they  would  be  less 
liable  to  be  killed  running  at  large.  He  had  his  watch 
with  him. 

"When  he  came  back  to  the  house  I  got  his  watch 

from  him  and  gave  it  to  Mrs.  S ,  with  the  request 

that  she  would  hide  it  in  some  safe  place. 

"About  noon,  just  as  we  were  ready  to  sit  down  to 
dinner,  a  little  negro  boy  came  running  in  half  breath- 
less from  fright. 

O 

"  'Marster,'  he  cried,  'dey's  comin  down  de  lane.' 

"  'Who  is  coming,'  asked  his  master? 

"  'Two  white  men's  wid  blue  coats  on,'  the  little 
negro  answered. 

"We  left  the  dining-room  and  looked  out.  Instead  of 
'two  white  men  with  blue  coats,'  we  saw  about  a  dozen, 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.        133 

talking  to  the  negroes  at  the  negro  houses.  My 
husband  went  out,  and  two  of  them  came  up  and  spoke 
very  politely  to  him,  asking  if  he  could  let  them  have 
something  to  eat.  They  said  they  wanted  some  flour, 
and  were  willing  to  pay  for  what  they  got.  They 
looked  around  the  pantry  and  smoke-house,  and  one  of 
them  said,  'you  had  better  have  those  provisions  carried 
into  your  house,  some  of  our  men  are  not  very  particular 
to  ask  for  what  they  want,'  while  another  offered  to  take 
down  some  pieces  of  meat  that  were  hanging  in  the 
smoke-house  and  bring  them  into  the  house  for  me. 

"  I  began  to  think  they  were  not  so  bad  after  all,  but  I 
soon  had  reason  to  change  my  mind.  I  had  hardly  got 
the  meat  inside  of  the  house  before  hundreds  of  the 
'Blue  Coats'  could  be  seen  everywhere.  One  man 
came  up  to  me  and  asked  if  I  could  tell  him  how  long  it 
was  since  the  last  'Rebs'  passed  the  place.  I  made  no 
reply  to  him,  whereupon  he  cursed  me  and  demanded  to 
know  why  I  did  not  answer  his  question. 

"  f  Don't  you  know  the  Southern  women  know  no 
such  persons  as  "Rebs,"  '  another  soldier  observed. 

"  'Then,'  said  the  first,  'will  you  please  tell  me, 
madam,  how  long  since  the  last  Confederate  soldier 
passed  here? ' 

"  I  told  him  General  Wheeler's  men  had  been  passing 
for  several  days,  and  that  some  of  them  had  passed  that 
morning.  '  I  suppose,'  I  added,  '  that  they  are  waiting 
for  you  down  in  the  swamp,"  and  I  hoped  in  my  heart 
they  would  give  them  a  warm  reception. 

"  In    our    fright  we    had    forgotten    our  dinner,  and 


134  LIFE    OF    GEN-   JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

when  we  went  back  into  the  dining-room  everything 
was  gone,  not  a  morsel  to  eat  was  left.  The  dishes 
were  all  gone,  and  even  the  table-cloth  was  taken. 
They,  no  doubt,  were  very  much  delighted  to  find  a 
nice  dinner  already  prepared  for  them — a  large  turkey, 
a  nice  ham  and  various  other  things  nicely  cooked.  We 
were  too  much  frightened  to  feel  hungry  then. 

"As  we  were  outside  the  picket  line,  we  were  not 
molested  during  the  night.  The  army  regulations  were 
very  strict,  requiring  all  to  be  in  camp  before  dark,  and 
we  were  not  able  to  get  a  guard.  That  night,  however, 
about  nine  o'clock,  we  heard  a  slight  knocking  on  the 
window.  '  Who  is  that? '  asked  my  husband.  'A 
friend,'  was  the  answer.  '  I  am  a  Confederate  soldier.' 
Upon  opening  the  door,  a  young  Confederate  officer 
came  in.  He  said  his  name  was  Carter,  and  that  his 
command  being  nearby,  he  had  come  into  Louisville  to 
see  his  wife,  who  was  visiting  Relatives  there.  She  was 
a  sister  of  General  Ranse  Wright.  That  morning, 
before  daylight,  he  left  Louisville,  hearing  that  the 
Yankees  were  in  the  neighborhood,  and  knowing  that 
he  would  be  taken  prisoner  if  he  were  found.  His 
friends  had  provided  him  with  provisions  to  last  several 
days.  He  had  been  hiding  in  the  woods  all  day,  and 
he  came  to  ask  us  if  we  could  direct  him  to  a  safe  place 
in  which  he  could  conceal  himself  until  the  enemy 
passed  by. 

"Judge  H directed  him  to  a  place  in  which  he 

thought  he  might  hide  without  much  danger  of  being 
discovered.  The  young  man  accordingly  provided 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.        135 

himself  with  some  water  and  set  out,  having  avoided 
•letting  the  overseer,  or  any  of  the  negroes,  know  of 
his  visit. 

* 'Early  Tuesday  morning  the  Yankees  began  to  come 
in  from  every  quarter.  One  could  not  look  in  any 
direction  without  seeing  them.  They  searched  every 
place.  One  of  them  loudly  declared  that  he  had  heard 
we  had  a  Confederate  officer  concealed  in  the  house, 
and  that  he  was  determined  to  find  him. 

"The  intruders  thereupon  looked  into  closets,  trunks, 
boxes,  and  every  conceivable  place.  One  man  came  in 
and  said :  'I  know  you  have  got  a  Rebel  officer  hidden 
away  in  here  somewhere.  He  was  seen  to  come  in  here 
last  night.'  He  accordingly  began  to  search  the  bureau 
drawers,  and  even  opened  the  clock  and  looked  into 
that.  'Sir,'  said  I,  half  laughingly,  just  as  he  was 
about  leaving  the  room,  'There  is  one  place  in  the  room 
you  have  not  looked  into.'  'Where  is  it?'  he  asked.  I 
pointed  to  a  small  pill  box  on  the  mantelpiece^,  and  asked 
him  if  the  Conlederate  soldier  might  not  be  hidden  in 
that.  He  turned  away  with  a  curse  upon  his  lips  on  all 
the  Rebel  women. 

"At  noon  some  of  the  men  insisted  that  my  husband 
should  go  down  to  the  swamp  with  them,  to  show  them 
where  some  syrup  was  hidden.  He  called  a  negro  man 
who  had  assisted  us  in  hiding  it,  and  told  him  to  go,  but 
the  Yankees  insisted  that  he  should  go  himself.  He 
told  them  he  was  old  and  feeble,  and  not  able  to  walk  so 
far.  One  of  them  thereupon  went  and  brought  a  mule 

0 

and  put  him  on  it,  and  three  of  them  started  with  him 


136  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

to  the  swamp.  I  felt  very  uneasy  about  him,  but  was 
assured  by  some  of  the  soldiers  that  no  harm  would  be 
done  to  him. 

"While  my  husband  was  absent,  the  destroyers  set  fire 
to  the  gin-house,  in  which  were  stored  over  two  hundred 
bales  of  cotton  and  several  bales  of  kersey  we  had 
hidden  between  the  bales  of  cotton.  The  granary,  in 
which  were  several  hundred  bushels  of  wheat,  was  also 
set  on  fire.  The  negroes  went  out  and  begged  for  the 
cotton,  saying  that  it  was  to  make  their  winter  clothes. 
The  cruel  destroyers  refused  to  let  the  negroes  have  a 
single  piece.  They  told  them  they  knew  it  was  to  make 
clothes  for  the  'Rebs.' 

"One  man,  who  had  been  particularly  insulting,  came 
up  to  me  and  laughed, harshly.  'Well,  madam,'  said 
he,  sneeringly,  '  how  do  you  like  the  looks  of  our  little 
fire.  We  have  seen  a  great  many  such,  within  the  last 
few  weeks.' 

"I  had  grown  desperate,  and  I  told  him  'I  didn't  care. 
I  was  thankful  that  not  a  lock  of  that  cotton  would  ever 
feed  a  Yankee  factory  or  clothe  a  Yankee  soldier's  back.' 

"He  turned  with  an  oath,  and  left  me,  but  after  a  few 
minutes  came  back,  having  discovered  that  my  house 
was  in  the  city  of  Macon,  and  that  I  had  heard  nothing 
from  there  for  some  time,  and  told  me,  with  a  chuckle, 
that  the  army  had  passed  through  Macon,  had  sacked  it 
and  then  burned  it  to  the  ground. 

"A  rough  looking  western  man  was  standing  by,  and 
he  interrupted  him.  'Madam,'  said  he,  'have  you 
friends  in  Macon?'  I  told  him  I  had  a  home  and  a 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN  S  RAID.  ,   137 

brother  there.  He  then  turned  to  the  miscreant  and 
looked  him  squarely  in  the  face.  'Why,'  he  demanded, 
'do  you  lie  to  this  lady?  You  know  very  well  we  did 
not  touch  Macon,  but  passed  it  by.  God  knows  she  will 
have  enough  to  bear  before  this  army  leaves  here,  with- 
out being  made  the  target  of  lies.' 

11  'I  am  glad  you  have  a  home  outside  Sherman's 
track,'  he  continued,  addressing  me,  'for  Heaven  knows 
you  will  need  it  before  many  days  pass.  You  will  have 
nothing  left  here.' 

"Just  then  I  saw  my  husband  coming  up  on  a  bare- 
back mule,  with  a  Yankee  soldier  on  each  side  holding 
him  on.  He  was  brought  up  to  the  piazza,  lifted  from 
the  mule  and  brought  into  the  house.  They  took  him 
into  a  small  room,  and  I  followed.  He  turned  to  me 
and  requested  me  to  give  the  men  his  watch. 

"  'Why?'  I  asked,  'they  have  no  business  with  your 
watch!' 

"  'Give  it  to  them,'  he  repeated,  with  a  gasp,  'and  let 
them  go.  I  am  almost  dead.' 

"Mrs.  S ,  was  standing  by,  and  I  told  her  to  get 

the  watch.  She,  without  thinking,  asked  me  if  I  meant 

Judge  H 's  watch,  and  I  answered  yes.  Of  course 

the  Yankees  inferred  from  her  remark  that  she  knew 
where  other  valuables  were  concealed,  and  they  made 
her  yield  up  everything.  I  got  my  husband  to  his  room 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  found  he  was  very  faint,  as  I 
thought,  from  fatigue.  Imagine  my  horror,  therefore, 
when  he  had  recovered  sufficiently  to  talk,  to  hear  that 
the  fiends  had  taken  him  to  the  swamp  and  hanged  him. 


138  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

He  said  he  suspected  no  harm  until  he  got  about  two 
miles  from  the  house,  when  they  stopped,  and  taking  him 
from  the  mule,  said:  'Now,  old  man,  you've  got  to  tell 
us  where  your  gold  is  hidden.'  He  told  them  he  had 
no  gold,  that  he  had  gone  down  to  his  plantation  for  a 
short  visit,  and  had  left  his  money  at  home  in  the  bank. 
They  cursed  him,  and  told  him  that  story  would 
not  do;  that  his  wife  had  gone  up  to  Macon  and 
brought  it  all  down,  for  a  negro  man  had  told  them  she 
had  brought  a  trunk  full  of  gold  and  silver  down  there, 
and  that  he  could  scarcely  lift  the  trunk,  it  Avas  so  heavy. 
They  then  said  they  had  brought  him  to  the  swamp  to 
make  him  tell  where  it  was.  If  he  would  give  it  up 
without  force,  all  right,  if  not,  they  would  hang  him 
until  he  revealed  its  hiding  place. 

"He  repeated  his  first  statement,  and  told  them  he 
had  no  gold. 

"They  then  took  him  to  a  tree  that  bent  over  the  path, 
tied  a  rope  around  his  neck,  threw  it  over  a  projecting 
limb,  and  drew  him  up  until  his  feet  were  off  the  ground. 
He  did  not  quite  lose  consciousness,  when  they  let  him 
down  and  said,  'now  where  is  your  gold.' 

"He  told  them  the  same  story,  whereupon  one  of  them 
cried,  'we'll  make  you  tell  another  story  before  we  are 
done  with  you,  so  pull  him  up  again  boys.'  They 
raised  him  up  again,  and  that  time  he  said  he  felt  as  if 
he  were  suffocating.  They  again  lowered  him  to  his 
feet  and  cried  out  fiercely,  'now  tell  us  where  that  gold 
is  or  we  will  kill  you,  and  your  wife  will  never  know 
what  has  become  of  vou.  'I  have  told  you  the  truth — 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.       139 

I  have  got  no  gold,'  he  again  repeated,  adding,  'I  am 
an  old  man  and  at  your  mercy.  If  you  want  to  kill  me 
you  have  the  power  to  do  it,  but  I  cannot  die  with  a  lie 
on  my  lips.  I  have  no  gold.  I  have  a  gold  watch  at 
the  house,  but  nothing  else.' 

"One  of  them  who  seemed  to  be  the  leader  said, 
'swing  the  old  Rebel  up  again ;  next  time  we  will  get  all 
the  truth  from  him.'  They  then  lifted  him  up  and  let 
him  fall  with  more  force  than  before.  He  heard  a 
sound  as  of  water  rushing  through  his  head,  and  then 
a  blindness  came  over  him,  and  a  dry  choking  sensation 
was  felt  in  his  throat,  as  he  lost  consciousness. 

"The  next  thing  he  remembered,  he  was  some  dis- 
tance from  the  place  where  he  was  hanged,  lying  with 
his  head  down  the  hill  near  a  stream  of  water,  and  one 
of  the  men  was  bathing  his  face  and  another  rubbing 
his  hands.  For  some  time  he  was  unable  to  speak. 
Then  he  heard  one  of  them  say — 'we  liked  to  have  car- 
ried this  game  too  far.'  When  he  was  able  to  sit  up, 
they  placed  him  on  the  mule  and  brought  him  to  the 
house  to  get  his  watch. 

"When  Mrs.  S went  to  get  Judge  H 's  watch, 

which  was  not  with  our  other  valuables,  the  plunderers 
compelled  her  to  guide  them  to  the  place  where  every- 
thing of  value  we  had  was  concealed,  and  she  came  to 
me  when  she  returned  to  the  house,  and  with  trembling 
lips,  said  she  hoped  I  would  not  blame  her  for  showing 
them  where  our  silver  was  hidden.  'I  couldn't  help  it. 
she  cried,  'they  threatened  to  kill  me  if  I  did  not  tell.' 
They  said  they  had  hanged  Judge  H until  he  was 


140  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

nearly  dead,  and  they  would  do  the  same  to  me  if  I  did 
not  show  them  where  everything  was  concealed.  They 
even  threatened  to  burn  the  house  down  if  I  kept  back 
anything.' 

"Poor  woman,  life  was  dear  to  her.  She  did  try  to 
save  it.  I  did  not  blame  her.  Oh !  the  horror  of  that 
night! 

"  None  but  God  will  ever  know  what  I  suffered. 
There  my  husband  lay  with  scorching  fever,  his  tongue 
parched  and  swollen,  and  his  throat  dry  and  sore.  He 
begged  for  water,  and  there  was  not  a  drop  to  be  had. 
The  Yankees  had  cut  all  the  well  ropes,  and  stolen  all 
the  buckets,  and  there  was  no  water  nearer  than  half  a 
mile. 

"Just  before  daylight,  one  of  the  negro  men  offered 
to  go  to  the  spring  for  some  water,  but  there  was  not  a 
bucket  or  tub  to  be  found.  Everything  had  been  taken 
off.  He  at  last  found  a  small  tin  bucket  that  some  of 
the  negroes  had  used  to  carry  their  dinner  to  the  field, 
and  brought  that  full — about  half  a  gallon. 

"  The  next  morning — Wednesday — a  rough-looking 
man  from  Iowa  came  to  the  window  and  asked  me  if  he 
could  be  of  any  service  to  me.  The  negroes  were 
afraid  to  come  near  the  house  during  the  day,  but  came 
at  night  and  brought  in  wood,  and  did  all  they  could  for 
me.  I  told  the  stranger  we  had  no  water  and  nothing 
to  eat.  He  offered  to  bring  me  some  water  if  I  would 
give  him  a  bucket.  I  told  him  every  vessel  had  been 
carried  off,  and  we  had  nothing.  He  then  left,  and  in 
about  an  hour  returned  with  a  wooden  pail,  such  as 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.   14! 

the  negroes  used  in  carrying  water  to  the  fields.  In 
other  days  I  should  have  hesitated  to  drink  water  from 
such  a  vessel,  as  it  certainly  did  not  look  very  clean,  but  I 
was  thankful  to  get  it,  and  expressed  my  gratitude  to 
the  man. 

"  The  Good  Samaritan  then  took  from  his  pockets  two 
envelopes,  one  containing  about  two  tablespoonfuls  of 
parched  coffee,  and  the  other  about  the  same  quantity 
of  brown  sugar,  and  handed  them  to  me.  Notwith- 
standing my  trouble,  I  could  not  help  being  amused. 
He  brought  me  a  small  teacup  and  said,  'Now,  take 
this  coffee  and  grind  it  if  you  have  a  mill,  if  not,  put  it 
in  a  rag  and  beat  it  until  it  is  fine,  then  put  it  in  the  cup 
and  pour  boiling  water  on  it,  and  let  it  boil  a  few 
minutes.  You  will  then  have  a  good  drink  for  your 
sick  husband.' 

"I  thanked  him,  but  did  not  let  him  know  I  knew 
how  to  make  coffee.  I  know  one  thing,  I  never  appre- 
ciated a  cup  of  coffee  more  than  I  did  that  one.  This 
man  was  rough-looking,  but  his  heart  was  in  the  right 
place.  He  certainly  acted  the  part  of  the  '  Good 
Samaritan.' 

"With  one  exception,  the  only  kindness  I  received 
was  from  the  Western  soldiers.  There  were  in  that 
large  army  some  feelings  of  kindness,  but  it  was  not  my 
good  fortune  to  meet  them.  Not  far  from  the  house, 
there  were  about  a  dozen  banks  of  potatoes  that  the 
plunderers  began  to  carry  away  by  the  bagful.  They 
would  come  into  the  house,  take  any  article  of  clothing 
they  could  find,  tie  a  string  around  one  end  of  it,  and 
make  a  receptacle  to  carry  off  potatoes. 


142  LIFE    OF   GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

"My  We^ern  friend,  the  Good  Samaritan,  who  gave 
me  the  coffee,  came  to  the  door  and  said,  'Give  me  a 
basket  and  I  will  bring  in  some  of  those  potatoes,  for 
you  will  need  them.' 

"I,  fortunately,  had  a  basket  in  the  room  and  gave  it 
to  him,  and  he  brought  in  about  three  bushels  and  put 
them  under  the  bed  on  the  floor. 

"All  the  time  he  was  bringing  them  in,  the  soldiers 
were  jeering  him  and  calling  him  'Old  Secesh.'  He 
paid  no  attention  to  their  taunts,  but  kept  bringing  in 
potatoes  as  long  as  he  could  find  a  place  to  put  them. 

"During  the  day  a  number  of  officers  came 
in  'to  pay  their  respects,'  as  they  said.  One  of  them, 
speaking  of  the  horrors  war  brought  on  the  women  and 
children  of  the  South,  spoke  freely  of  the  terrible  way 
in  which  South  Carolina  was  to  be  punished. 

'"You  may  think  the  people  .of  Georgia  are  faring 
badly,'  he  said,  'and  they  are,  but  God  pity  the  people 
of  South  Carolina  when  this  army  gets  there,  for  we 
have  orders  to  lay  everything  in  ashes,  not  to  leave  a 
green  thing  in  the  State  for  man  or  beast.  That  State 
will  be  made  to  feel  the  fearful  sin  of  secession,  before 
our  army  gets  through  it.  Here  our  soldiers  are  held  in 
check  as  much  as  is  possible,  with  such  a  large  body  of 
men,  but  when  we  get  to  South  Carolina  they*will  be 
turned  loose  to  follow  their  own  inclinations.'  'Their 
own  inclinations,'  he  seemed  to  understand,  would  be 
murder,  arson,  rape  and  robbery. 

"On  Saturday  morning  we  looked  out  upon  a  scene  of 
desolation   ;i:ul    ruin.      We  could    hardly  believe  it  was 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.       143 

our  home..  One  week  before,  it  was  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  places  in  the  State.  Now  it  was  a  vast  wreck. 
Gin-houses,  packing  houses,  screws,  granary — all  lay  in  , 
ashes.  Not  a  fence  was  to  be  seen  for  miles.  The  corn 
crop  had  not  been  gathered,  and  the  army  had  turned 
their  stock  in  the  fields  and  destroyed  what  they  had  not 
carried  off. 

"The  poor  negroes  had  fared  no  better  than  we  had. 
Their  friends  had  stolen  everything  from  them,  as  well 
as  from  us.  Their  master  had  given  them  a  month's 
rations,  thinking  they  would  be  able  to  save  them,  but 
alas,  they  had  provisions,  clothing  and  everything  taken 
from  them ;  even  their  shoes  were  taken  from  their  feet. 
Their  chickens  had  all  been  killed,  and  their  beds  and 
bedding  carried  off.  Poor  creatures,  they  looked  discon- 
solate, and  when  they  saw  their  master,  the  older  ones 
burst  out  crying.  'Marster,'  they  asked,  piteously, 
'What  we  all  gwine  to  do  now?  Everything  gone, 
nothing  left  for  us  to  eat.' 

"  'I  can't  tell.  It  looks  as  if  we  would  all  have  to 
starve  together.  I  never  saw  starvation  looking  me  in 
the  face  before.' 

"I  well  remember  the  distress  of  one  of  the  negro 
women.  She  was  sitting  on  her  doorsteps,  swaying  her 
body  back  and  forth,  in  the  manner  peculiar  to  the 
negro,  and  making  a  mournful  noise,  a  kind  of  moaning 
and  low  sorrowful  sound,  occasionally  wringing  her 
hands  and  crying  out.  As  we  approached  her  she 
raised  her  head. 

"  'Marster,'  she  said,  rolling  her  eyes  strangely,  'what 


144  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

kind  of  folks  dese  here  Yankees?  They  won't  even  let 
the  dead  rest  in  de  grave.'  'What  do  you  mean?'  he 
asked.  'You  know  my  chile,  what  I  bury  last  week? 
Dey  take  'em  up  and  left  'em  on  de  top  of  de  ground  for 
de  hog  to  root.  What  you  tink  of  dat,  sir.' ' 

"  Her  story  was  true.  A  fresh  grave  was  dug  up  in 
search  of  treasure.  A  coffin  with  a  little  baby  taken 
out  and  broken  open,  and  the  pitiful  little  corpse  left  on 
the  ground  for  the  hogs.  The  eyes  of  black  as  well  as 
white  were  made  to  weep.  There  was  no  distinction  on 
account  of  race  or  color.  And  at  that  moment  Sherman 
was  hauling  ten  days'  rations  for  his  whole  army  in  his 
twenty-five  hundred  six  mule  wagons.  The  live  stock, 
horses,  cows,  hogs,  calves,  sheep  were  shot  and  left  on 
the  ground  as  carrion."* 

Here  is  another  picture  of  the  search  for  treasure.  A 
party  of  bummers,  coming  on  a  secluded  country  house, 
inhabited  by  a  one-armed  and  wounded  Confederate 
soldier,  his  child,  wife  and  his  sister,  undertook  to  find 
JefT.  Davis's  gold,  which  they  hoped,  or  believed,  or 
pretended  to  believe,  had  been  concealed  by  the  family. 

They  secured  large  chests  of  plate  and  jewelry,  which 
had  been  sent  up  the  country  from  Charleston  for  safe 
keeping,  and  which,  doubtless,  were  the  origin  of  the 
myth  about  Jeff.  Davis's  gold. 

The  one-armed  man  was  under  guard,  and  refusing  to 
tell  where  the  gold  was — for  he  asserted  truthfully  there 
was  no  gold — was  struck  over  the  head  by  the  colonel 
with  a  musket,  and  when  about  to  repeat  the  blow,  the 

*Our  Women  in  the  War,  page  77. 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.       145 

young  wife  rushed  in  and  warded  it  from  her  husband 
by  receiving  it  herself. 

"  '  No  more  of  that,  colonel,"  said  an  officer,  who  had 
been  sitting  on  one  side  for  some  time,  examining  a 
casket  of  jewels.  '  Take  the  fellow  out  and  shoot  him 
or  break  his  neck  as  soon  as  you  please,  but  let  that 
girl  alone  or  I'll  take  her  under  my  own  wing.' 

"  In  a  shorter  time  than  I  can  relate  it,  the  inhuman 
wretches  dragged  my  helpless  brother  beneath  a  large 
maple  tree,  and  placing  a  strong  rope  round  his  neck, 
prepared  to  execute  their  threat. 

"'Perhaps  the  coil  of  hemp  around  his  neck  will 
make  him  open  his  mouth,'  said  one  of  the  ruffians, 
giving  the  rope  a  sudden  jerk. 

"  'You  have  already  been  told  that  there  is  no  gold 
here,  and  now  I  add  that  if  there  were  tons  of  it  I  would 
rather  die  twenty  deaths  than  deliver  it  into  the  hands  of 
such  a  band  of  cut-throats  and  robbers.' 

"  These  defiant  words  from  Earle  were  received  with 
a  volley  of  curses,  and  the  order  was  given,  '  draw  him 
up.'  The  rope  was  tightening  when  one  of  the  men 
exclaimed,  'Where's  his  wife?  She  must  see  him 
swing ;'  and  as  if  in  answer  to  the  call,  Ins  sprang  forward 
and  tightly  clasped  the  rope.  '  You  dare  not,  you  shall 
not  kill  him,'  she  cried,  her  face  blanched  to  the  dread- 
ful whiteness  of  death. 

"'Who  will  stop  us,  you  cursed  Rebel?'  asked  the 
colonel,  the  most  inhuman  of  the  lot.  '  Here,  men,  pull 
her  off,  and  if  she  won't  keep  her  distance,  make  her.' 

"  Rudely  they  tore  her  hands  from  the  rope,  and  held 


146  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

them  firmly,  despite  her  efforts  to  free  herself.  And 
then  I  saw  the  rope  tighten  again,  and  my  poor  brother 
swing  into  mid-air.  They  twice  drew  Earle  up  and  let 
him  down,  each  time  calling  him  to  tell  where  the  gold 
was,  and  were  preparing  to  hang  him  a  third  time  when 
some  officers,  apparently  of  high  rank,  rode  up  and 
ordered  the  release  of  the  captive,  and  the  party  to 
rejoin  their  brigade."' 

•     Said  Dr.  :     "When  Sherman's  Army  passed 

through  my  place  in  North  Carolina,  some  of  his  camp 
followers,  in  their  greedy  search  for  treasure,  entered 
the  graveyard,  dug  up  my  dead  children,  opened  their 
coffins  and  left  their  bodies  exposed  to  birds  and  beasts 
less  vile  than  they."f 

Such  barbarities  were  practiced  daily  during  three 
months  in  the  track  of  desolation  over  three  States. 

The  atrocities  of  the  "unspeakable  Turk"  in  Bulgaria, 
painted  by  the  pencil  of  Gladstone,  have  since  then 
roused  Christendom  to  horror,  and  civilization  to  execra- 
tion. This  is  not  war,  it  is  barbarism.  The  morale  of 
of  an  army  comes  from  its  head.  The  spirit  of  the 
commander  inspires  his  followers.  In  the  preceding 
year  General  Lee,  in  the  enemy's  country,  had  issued 
the  following  order: 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA,  ) 
CHAMBERSBURG,  PA.,  June  27,  1863.       ) 
General  Order  y  No.  73: 

The  Commanding  General  has  observed  with  marked 
satisfaction,  the  conduct  of  the  troops  upon  the  march, 
and  confidently  anticipates  results  commensurate  with 

*Our  Women  in  the  War,  page  59. 
tOur  Women  in  the-  War,  page  116. 


- 

THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.       147 

the  high  spirit  they  have  manifested.  *  *  Their  con- 
duct in  other  respects  has,  with  few  exceptions,  been  in 
keeping  with  their  character  as  soldiers,  and  entitles 
them  to  approbation  and  praise. 

There  have,  however,  been  instances  of  forgetfulness, 
on  the  part  of  some,  that  they  have  in  keeping  the  yet 
unsullied  reputation  of  the  army,  and  that  the  duties 
exacted  of  us  by  civilization  and  Christianity  are  not  less 
obligatory  in  the  country  of  the  enemy  than  in  our  own. 

The  Commanding  General  considers  that  no  greater 
disgrace  could  befall  the  army,  and  through  it  our  whole 
people,  than  the  perpetration  of  the  barbarous  outrages 
upon  the  innocent  and  defenceless,  and  the  wanton 
destruction  of  private  property,  which  have  marked  the 
course  of  the  enemy  in  our  own  country.  Such  pro- 
ceedings not  only  disgrace  the  perpetrators  and  all  con- 
nected with  them,  but  are  subversive  of  the  discipline 
and  efficiency  of  the  army,  and  destructive  of  the  ends 
of  our  present  movements.  It  must  be  remembered, 
that  we  -make  war  only  on  armed  men>  and  that  we  can- 
not take  vengeance  for  the  wrongs  our  people  have  suf- 
fered, without  lowering  ourselves  in  the  eyes  of  all, 
whose  abhorrence  has  been  excited  by  the  atrocities  of 
our  enemy,  and  offending  against  Him  to  whom  ven- 
geance belongeth,  without  whose  favor  and  support 
must  all  prove  vain. 

The  Commanding  General,  therefore,  earnestly  exhorts 
the  troops  to  abstain,  with  most  scrupulous  care,  from 
unnecessary  or  wanton  injury  of  private  property,  and 
he  enjoins  upon  all  officers  to  arrest  and  bring  to  sum- 
mary punishment  all  who  shall  in  any  way  offend 
against  the  orders  on  this  subject. 

R.  E.  LEE, 

General. 

The  idea  of  plunder  permeated  and  saturated  the 
Federal  Army,  from  its  headquarters  to  its  bummers. 

'When  Sherman  captured  Atlanta,  he  found  there 
about  thirty-one  thousand  bales  of  cotton,  some  of  it 
belonging  to  foreigners.  He  seized  it  all,  as  prize  of 


148  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

war,  and  took  the  position  with  Mr.  Barklay,  the  British 
Consul,  that  all  cotton  was  saturated  with  treason,  and 
that  no  rights  of  British  subjects  would  be  recognized 
to  that  article. 

As  soon  as  the  capture  of  the  cotton  was  known, 
December  27,  1864,  Grant  wrote  Sherman:  "Please 
instruct  Foster  to  hold  on  to  all  the  property  in  Savan- 
nah, and  especially  the  cotton.  Do  not  turn  it  over  to 
citizens  or  treasury  agents,  without  orders  from  the  War 
Department."* 

But  the  Secretary  of  War  himself  felt  an  interest  in 
that  cotton,  and  on  January  u,  1864,  he  arrived  in 
Savannah  in  a  revenue  cutter,  with  Simeon  Draper,  of 
New  York,  and  others. 

Sherman  had  a  keen  and  alert  intellect,  and  knew 
exactly  what  he  wanted,  and  also  how  to  get  it. 

He  claimed  the  cotton  as  prize  of  war,  assimulating  it 
to  captures,  and  the  law  of  prize,  on  the  high  seas.  Such 
a  claim  was  unknown  to  the  common  law  or  the  law  of 
nations,  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
have  since  decided  that  no  such  law  of  booty  exists 
in  the  Army  of  the  United  States. 

Stanton  knew  no  theory  by  which  the  Secretary  of 
War  could  share  in  booty.  Sherman  was  satisfied  that 
the  Commander  of  the  Army  must  take  a  large  share, 
and  of  this  opinion  seemed  Grant.  So  Grant  wrote 
Sherman  to  hold  on.  Sherman  ordered  a  list  of  all  cot- 
ton with  the  marks  on  it  to  be  made  out,  and  for  it  to  be 
forwarded  to  New  York  for  adjudication  and  division  by 

*ShcnnMrs  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  page  238. 


THE  FALL  OF  ATLANTA  AND  SHERMAN'S  RAID.       149 

the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  acting  as  a  prize 
court. 

Stan  ton  did  not  agree  to  this,  so  he  ordered  it  all 
turned  over  to  Simeon  Draper,  agent  of  Treasury  De- 
partment of  the  United  States,  and  that  all  the  bagging 
be  taken  off  the  bales  and  that  they  be  re-bagged  and 
re-packed  so  as  to  render  identification  impossible. 
This  was  a  tolerably  smart  trick  to  "steal,  take  and 
carry  away"  thirty  thousand  bales  of  cotton,  worth  in 
the  market  six  millions  of  dollars.  Stolen  silver  is  fre- 
quently melted  up  in  the  same  way,  to  destroy  the  marks 
on  it  and  prevent  identification.  There  was  a  smarter 
one,  however,  and  it  was  played.  The  chief  quarter- 
master of  Sherman's  old  corps  put  a  couple  of  clerks  in 
the  warehouse  where  this  disbaling  and  rebaling  was  go- 
ing on,  to  keep  a  descriptive  list  of  each  bale,  showing 
its  old  marks,  its  new  marks  and  the  name  of  its  owner. 

So  Draper  got  the  cotton,  and  some  of  the  proceeds 
were  paid  into  the  treasury,  under  the  captured  and 
abandoned  property  act  of  the  United  States,  which 
provided  that  all  proceeds  of  such  property  should  be 
held  in  trust  for  owners,  who  could  get  it  by  proving' 
loyalty,  &c. 

After  the  war  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  settled  the  law,  that  a  pardon  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States  wiped  out  all  the  consequences  of 
treason,  and  released  all  penalties.  So  the  chief  quar- 
termaster sought  out  the  owners  of  this  captured  cotton, 
and  agreed  to  recover  the  proceeds  of  it,  in  the  Court  of 
Claims. 


I5O  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

He  actually  recovered  $3,700,000  of  this  money, 
the  government  refunding  the  price,  about  fifty  cents 
per  pound,  paid  for  the  cotton,  and  he  got  one-half  of 
the  sum  recovered. 


THE  DRAGONNADE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  DRAGONNADE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  AND  THE 
SACK  OF  COLUMBIA. 

1V/IAJOR  GENERAL  HALLECK,  on  December 
*  *  1  18,  1863,  wrote  from  headquarters  of  the  army 
as  chief  of  staff  at  Washington,  to  Sherman  at  Savannah : 

"Should  you  capture  Charleston,  I  hope  that  by 
some  accident  the  place  may  be  destroyed,  and  if  a  little 
salt  should  be  sown  on  its  site,  it  might  prevent  the 
growth  of  future  crops  of  nullification  and  treason."* 

Sherman  replied,  December  24th:  "I  will  bear  in 
mind  your  hint  as  to  Charleston,  and  do  not  think 
'salt'  will  be  necessary.  When  I  move,  the  Fifteenth 
Corps  will  be  on  the  right  of  the  right  wing,  and  their 
position  will  naturally  bring  them  into  Charleston  first; 
and  if  you  have  watched  the  history  of  that  corps,  you 
will  have  remarked  that  they  generally  do  their  work 
pretty  well.  The  truth  is,  the  whole  army  is  burning 
with  an  insatiable  desire  to  wreak  vengeance  upon 
South  Carolina.  I  almost  tremble  at  her  fate,  but  feel 
that  she  deserves  all  that  seems  in  store  for  her.  *  * 
I  look  upon  Columbia  as  quite  as  bad  as  Charleston,  and 
I  doubt  if  we  shall  spare  the  public  buildings  there,  as 
we  did  at  Milledgeville."f 

In  the  same  vein,  Sherman  writes  in  his  memoirs  : 

"So  I  saw  and  felt  that  we  would  not  be  able  longer 

•Sherman's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  page  223. 
t Sherman's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  page  227. 


152  LIFE    OF    GBN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

to  restrain  our  men,  as  we  had  done  in  Georgia.  Per- 
sonally, I  had  many  foiends  in  Charleston,  to  whom  I 
would  gladly  have  extended  protection  and  mercy,  but 
they  were  beyond  my  personal  reach,  and  I  would  not 
restrain  the  army,  lest  its  vigor  and  energy  should  be 
impaired."* 

With  a  General  as  loquacious  and  vain-glorious  as 
Sherman,  these  views  of  his  were  known-  to  every 
"bummer"  of  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  "which  always  did 
its  work  so  well,"  as  well  as  his  whole  command.  So 
that  when  the  army  marched  into  South  Carolina  it  did 
just  what  he  wanted  it  to  do,  what  Halleck  wanted  it 
to  do,  and  what  they  both  instigated  it  to  do. 

These  facts  would  be  of  less  importance,  but  that 
Gen.  Sherman  has  persistently,  deliberately,  and  with- 
out cessation,  denied  that  he  burnt  Columbia,  or  knew 
it  was  going  to  be  burnt,  or  permitted  it  to  be  burnt. 

If  he  would  avow  the  act,  and  take  the  responsibility 
to  history,  that  at  least  would  be  honest  and  frank.  But 
he  has  put  on  record  in  the  United  States  Senate  a  care- 
fully prepared,  long  matured,  deliberate,  and  premedi- 
tated, falsification  of  history  as  to  this  crowning  act  of 
vandalism.  Great  men  sometimes  make  blunders. 
Great  generals  sometimes  have  committed  grave  crimes, 
but  no  one  has  ever  before  skulked  from  the  responsi- 
bility of  his  act,  and  endeavored  to  fix  the  stain  on  an 
innocent  and  honorable  adversary. 

Napoleon  perfectly  understood  that  the  execution  of 
the  Due  d'Eughien  was  both  a  blunder  and  a  crime,  but 

•Sherman's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  page  254. 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  153 

even  he  never  shirked  the  responsibility  for  that  dark 
deed. 

Speaking  of  the  firing  of  Columbia,  he  says  in 
his  report  : 

"Gen.  Wade  Hampton,  who  commanded  the  Con- 
federate rear-guard  of  cavalry,  had,  in  anticipation  of 
our  capture  of  Columbia,  ordered  that  all  cotton,  public 
and  private,  should  be  moved  into  the  streets  and 
fired  to  prevent  our  making  use  of  it. 
Some  of  these  piles  of  cotton  were  burning,"  (when 
the  Federal  troops  entered  the  city,)  especially  one  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  city,  near  the  court-house,  but  the 
fire  was  partially  subdued  by  the  labor  of  our  soldiers. 
*  *  -*  Before  one  single  public  building  had  been 
fired  by  order,  the  smouldering  fires,  set  by  Hampton's 
order,  were  rekindled  by  the  wind  and  communicated 
to  the  buildings  around.  I  disclaim  on  the  part  of  my 
army  any  agency  in  this  fire,  but  on  the  contrary  claim 
that  we  saved  what  of  Columbia  remains  unconsumed. 
And  without  hesitation  I  charge  Gen.  Wade  Hampton 
with  having  burned  his  own  city  of  Columbia,  not  with 
malicious  intent,  or  as  the  manifestation  of  a  silly 
'Roman  stoicism,'  but  from  folly  and  want  of  sense,  in 
filling  it  with  lint  cotton  and  tinder." 

Hampton  and  the  people  of  Columbia  vigorously 
repelled  this  charge,  and  in  May,  1866,  published  over- 
whelming proof  of  its  falsehood. 

In  1874-5,  when  Sherman's  Memoirs  were  written, 
it  was  universally  conceded  that  the  charge  was 
unfounded.  Under  the  circumstances,  an  honorable 
soldier,  nay,  an  honest  man,  would  have  said  that  he 
was  mistaken  as  to  the  statement  made  in  his  report; 
and  a  generous  one  would  have  expressed  regret  at  the 
wrong  done  his  adversary,  as  well  as  the  injury  to  his 
own  reputation  in  having  originated  and  circulated  a 


154  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

slander.  But  the  memoir  does  neither.  In  them  Gen. 
Sherman  says  :  "Many  of  the  people  thought  that  this 
fire  was  deliberately  planned  and  executed.  This  is  not 
true.  It  was  accidental,  and  in  my  judgment  began  with 
the  cotton  which  Gen.  Hampton's  men  had  set  fire  to  on 
leaving  the  city,  (whether  by  his  orders  or  not  is  not 
material),  which  fire  was  partially  subdued  early  in  the 
day  by  our  men,  but  when  night  came,  the  high  winds 
fanned  it  again  into  full  blaze,  carried  it  against  the 
frame  houses,  which  caught  like  tinder,  and  soon  spread 
beyond  our  control.  In  my  official  report  of 

this  conflagration,  I  distinctly  charged  it  to  Gen.  Wade 
Hampton,  and  confess  I  did  so  pointedly  to  shake  the  faith 
of  his  people  in  him,  for  he  was,  in  my  opinion,  a  brag- 
gart, and  professed  to  be  the  especial  champion  of 
South  Carolina."* 

If  there  is  such  another  contession  recorded  on  the 
pages  of  any  history,  anywhere,  at  any  time,  by  a  man 
of  high  position,  by  a  general  of  a  great  army,  and  a 
man  high  in  the  confidence  of  a  great  government,  I 
have  never  heard  of  it.  The  records  of -the  criminal 
courts  sometimes  preserve  the  statements  of  pickpockets, 
of  rogues,  of  swindlers,  that  they  have  "put  up  jobs," 
as  they  call  it,  on  honest  men,  to  call  attention  from 
themselves.  The  cry  of  "stop  thief"  is  a  familiar  and 
shallow  device  of  these  gentry. 

But  never  before  has  the  General  of  an  army  recorded 
himself,  in  his  own  memoirs,  carefully  prepared  ten 
years  after  the  fact,  that  he  had  deliberately,  wilfully 

*Sherman's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  page  287. 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  155 

and  with  malice  aforethought,  invented  and  uttered  a  lie, 
a  base  calumny  against  his  adversary,  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  injuring  his  reputation. 

There  is  the  record  made  by  Gen.  Sherman  himself. 
Examine,  explain,  extenuate  it! 

While  these  events  were  transpinng  in  Georgia, 
Thomas  and  Schofield  had  destroyed  Hood's  Army  at 
Nashville  and  Franklin,  and  Grant  at  once  ordered 
Schofield,  with  his  Twenty-third  Corps,  by  rail  to  Anna- 
polis, thence  to  be  transported  by  sea  to  Newbern,  North 
Carolina.  The  campaign  then  arranged,  was  that  Sher- 
man should  cut  loose  from  Savannah  and  Beaufort  on 
the  sea,  march  across  South  Carolina  to  Fayetteville, 
North  Carolina  on  the  Cape  Fear,  and  thus  compel  the 
evacuation  of  Charleston,  while  Grant  would  make 
another  attempt  on  Wilmington. 

From  Fayetteville,  Sherman  was  to  march  to  Golds- 
borough,  North  Carolina,  where  the  railroad  from 
Newbern,  fifty  miles  off,  joins  the  Weldon  &  Wilming- 
ton road,  and  refreshed  with  reinforcements,  clothes, 
shoes  and  luxuries — to  move  on  Raleigh,  the  capital 
of  North  Carolina;  thence  to  Greensborough,  where  the 
railroad  connects  the  North  Carolina  railroad  with  the 
Virginia  system,  thence  to  Danville,  and  cut  Lee  off  at 
Farmville,  w*here  the  railroad  from  Richmond  to  Dan- 
ville and  the  South  crosses  the  railroad  from  Petersburg 
to  Bristol,  Tennessee,  and  the  southwest.  This  pro- 
gramme, carried  out,  would  end  the  war.  'So,  on 
February  i,  1864,  Sherman  started  from  Savannah  and 
Pocataligo  northward,  with  four  corps  of  infantry  and  one 


156  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

division  of  cavalry  of  three  brigades,  with  an  effective 
force  of  60,000  men,  twenty -five  hundred  wagons,  with 
six  mules  each,  and  six  hundred  ambulances,  with  two 
mules  each. 

The  wagons  contained  ammunition  for  a  great  battle, 
forage  for  seven  days,  and  rations  for  twenty  days, 
depending  for  fresh  meat  on  the  country. 

Goldsboro  was  four  hundred  and  twenty-live  miles  off. 
There  was  absolutely  no  force  to  oppose  him.  Hampton 
and  Butler,  with  two  skeleton  brigades,  were  at  Col- 
umbia. 

A  march  of  thirty  days  was  before  him.  The  weather 
was  perfect.  Cool  enough  and  warm  enough  to  permit 
men  to  sleep  without  tents  or  cover.  The  fresh  meat 
and  forage  needed,  could  have  been  collected  by  the 
commissaries,  impressing  them  in  an  orderly  way,  and 
there  was  no  necessity  for  burning  a  single  house,  mur- 
dering a  single  old  man,  dishonoring  a  single  woman, 
or  desecrating  the  grave  of  a  child. 

Yet  that  army  moved  through  South  Carolina,  from  its 
southwestern  corner  to  its  northeast  boundary,  diagon- 
ally crossing  the  State,  covering  a  front  of  sixty  miles 
with  its  parallel  columns,  and  its  "bummers"  on  its  flanks, 
leaving  not  a  house  with  a  brick  chimney,  not  a  barn,  or 
a  mill,  nor  a  gin-house,  nor  any  building — hardly  a 
fence,  nor  a  beast,  nor  a  fowl;  not  a  graveyard  where  the 
fresh  graves  were  not  dug  up.  And  the  Army  of  the 
Northern  Virginia  supplied  many  a  fresh  grave  that 
winter  to  South  Carolina.  Not  a  woman,  white  or  black, 
gentle  or  simple,  who  was  not  insulted. 


THE    DRAGONXADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  157 

It  has  been  said,  that  all  our  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion has  removed  us  only  three  generations  from  barbar- 
ism. That  if  you  scratch  a  Russian,  you  will  find  a 
Tartar  under  the  veneer  and  varnish.  This  march 
proves  that  the  philosopher,  who  made  the  first  observa- 
tion was  utterly  mistaken,  for  experience  has  proved 
that  sixty  days  is  enough  to  make  savages  of  men,  with 
Christian  mothers,  reared  under  the  influence  of  the 
bible,  and  with  the  light  of  civilization  in  their  lives.  No 
tongue  will  ever  tell,  no  pen  can  record  the  horrors  of 
that  march.  Ten  generations  of  women  will  transmit,  in 
whispers  to  their  daughters,  traditions  of  unspeakable 
things.  These  things  may  not  be  written.  Eyes  will 
weep  for  them,  and  memories  will  transmit  them  for 
many  a  generation. 

Posterity  will  decide,  and  history  will  record,  upon 
whom  the  responsibility  for  all  this  crime  shall  rest,  just 
as  certainly  as  that  the  Great  Judge  on  the  last  day  will 
render  judgment  for  it. 

The  burning  of  Columbia  was  so  atrocious,  and 
accompanied  by  such  incidents  of  barbarity,  that  it 
attracted  the  denunciation  of  Christendom,  and  Sher- 
man, as  we  have  seen,  denied  being  responsible  for  it, 
and  charged  it  upon  Hampton.  He  has  since  confessed 
that  the  charge  -against  Hampton  was  a  malicious 
slander,  invented  by  himself,  to  injure  that  great  soldier's 
reputation  among  his  own  people.  But  in  the  memoirs, 
Sherman  stands  to  his  denial  that  he  was  responsible  for 
the  sack  of  Columbia. 

But    he    also    records    the  instructions  of  Halleck  to 


158  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E".  JOHNSTON. 

destroy  Charleston,  and  sow  its  desolated  foundations 
with  salt.  He  shows  how,  he  replied  to  Halleck,  that 
the  Fifteenth  corps  would  take  charge  of  Charleston, 
and  that  that  corps  always  did  its  work  thoroughly. 
He  further  shows  how  he  considered  Columbia  as  bad 
as  Charleston;  that  he  did  not  intend  to  restrain  his 
soldiers  breathing  fire,  sword  and  destruction  to  South 
Carolina,  and  that  he  sent  the  Fifteenth  corps,  his  corps 
d'clitc,  through  Columbia,  and  that  Columbia  was 
sacked.  Only  the  Fifteenth  corps  passed  through  Col- 
umbia. This  is  the  case  as  General  Sherman  states  it. 

No  other  or  further  proof  is  required,  but  there  are 
some  details  that  ought  to  be  put  in  permanent  shape  for 
authentic  perpetuation. 

In  the  winter  of  i865-'66,  the  people  of  Columbia 
appointed  a  committee  to  collect  and  perpetuate  testi- 
mony about  the  sack  of  the  city. 

At  the  head  of  this  committee  was  ex-Chancellor  J. 
P.  Carroll,  a  citizen  illustrious  for  long  and  distinguished 
service  to  his  State,  and  a  blameless  life.  With  him 
were  others  of  whom  any  society  anywhere  would  have 
been  proud. 

Chancellor  Carroll,  in  May,  1866,  reported  as  follows, 
and  I  insert  his  report  that  it  may  go  on  record,  "in  pcr- 
petuam  memoriam  rei:" 

"The  committee  who  were  charged  writh  the  duty  of 
collecting  the  evidence  in  relation  to  the  destruction  of 
Columbia  by  fire,  on  the  iyth  of  February,  1865,  SUD~ 
mit  the  following  report : 

"By  the  terms  of  the  resolution  appointing  them,  the 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  159 

committee  do  not  feel  authorized  to  deduce  any  conclu- 
sion, or  pronounce  any  judgment,  however  warranted 
by  the  proof,  as  to  the  person  responsible  for  the  crime. 
Their  task  will  be  accomplished  by  presenting  the 
evidence  that  has  been  obtained,  with  an  abstract  of  the 
facts  established  by  it. 

"More  than  sixty  depositions  and  statements  in  writing, 
from  as  many  individuals,  have  been  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  committee.  The  array  of  witnesses  is 
impressive,  not  merely  because  of  their  number,  but  for 
the  high-toned  and  elevated  character  of  some  of  them, 
the  unpretending  and  sterling  probity  of  others,  and  the 
general  intelligence  and  worth  of  all.  The  plain  and 
unvarnished  narrative  subjoined  is  taken  from  the  testi- 
mony referred  to,  solely  and  exclusively,  except  so  much 
as  refers  to  certain  declarations  of  Gen.  Sherman  himself, 
widely  circulated  through  the  public  press,  and  to  the 
ravages  of  his  army  in  this  State ;  after  their  departure 
from  Columbia,  matters  of  such  notoriety  as,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  committee,  to  dispense  with  the  neces- 
sity of  formal  proof. 

"The  forces  of  Gen.  Sherman's  command,  while  in 
Georgia,  seem  to  have  anticipated  that  their  next  march 
would  be  through  South  Carolina.  Their  temper  and 
feelings  towards  our  people,  a  witness,  Mrs.  L.  Cathe- 
rine Jaynor,  thus  describes  : 

"  'The  soldiers  were  universal  in  their  threats.  They 
seemed  to  gloat  over  the  distress  that  would  accrue  from 
their  march  through  the  State.  I  conversed  with  num- 
bers of  all  grades  belonging  to  the  1/j.th  and  2Oth  corps. 
Such  expressions  as  the  following  were  of  hourly 


l6o  LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 

occurrence:  "Carolina  may  well  dread  us;  she  brought 
this  war  on,  and  shall  pay  the  penalty."  "You  think 
Georgia  has  suffered?  Just  wait  until  we  get  into  Caro- 
lina— every  man,  woman  and  child  may  dread  us 
there." 

"Gen.  Sherman  himself,  the  same  witness  informs  us, 
in  addressing  himself  to  a  lady  of  his  acquaintance, 
said  to  her:  'Go  off  the  line  of  railroad,  for  I  will  not 
answer  for  the  consequences  where  the  army  p^ses.' 

A    TRAIL    OF    FIRE. 

"The  threats  uttered  in  Georgia  were  sternly  executed 
by  the  troops  of  Gen.  Sherman  upon  their  entrance  into 
this  State.     For  eighty  miles  along  the  route  of  his  army, 
through  the  most  highly  improved  and  cultivated  region 
of   the  State,  according   to  the  testimony  of   intelligent 
and    respectable  witnesses,  the    habitations  of  but  two 
white  persons  remain.     As  he  advanced,  the  villages  of 
Hardeeville,  Grahamville,  Gillisonville,  McPhersonville, 
Barnwell,  Blackville,  Midway,  Orangeburg    and    Lex- 
ington were  successively  devoted  to  the  flames.     Indig- 
nities and  outrages  were  perpetrated  upon  the  persons  of 
the    inhabitants;    the   implements   of    agriculture    were 
broken;    dwellings,  barns,  mills,  gin-houses  were  con- 
sumed;   provisions  of  every  description  appropriated  or 
destroyed;   horses  and  mules  carried  away,  and  sheep, 
cattle  and  hogs  were  either  taken  for  actual  use,  or  shot 
down,  and  left  behind.     The  like  devastation  marked 
the    progress    of    the    invading    army,    from    Columbia 
through    the    State    to    its    northern    frontier,   and    the 

O 

towns    of    Winnsboro,  Camden    and    Cheraw    suffered 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  l6l 

from  like  visitations  by  fire.  If  a  single  town,  or  village, 
or  hamlet,  within  their  line  of  march  escaped  altogether 
the  torch  of  the  invaders,  the  committee  have  not  been 
informed  of  the  exception.  The  line  of  Gen.  Sherman's 
march  from  his  entering  the  territory  of  the  State  up  to 
Columbia,  and  from  Columbia  to  the  North  Carolina 
border,  was  one  continuous  track  of  fire. 

"The  devastation  and  ruin  thus  inflicted  were  but  the 
execution  of  the  policy,  and  plan  of  Gen.  Sherman,  for 
the  subjugation  of  the  Confederate  States.  Extracts  from 
his  address  at  Salem,  Illinois,  in  July  last,  have  appeared 
in  the  public  prints,  and  thus  he  announces  and  vindi- 
cates the  policy  and  plan  referred  to : 

"  'We  were  strung  out  from  Nashville  clear  down  to 
Atlanta.  Had  I  gone  on,  stringing  out  our  forces,  what 
danger  would  there  not  have  been  of  their  attacking  this 
little  head  of  the  column  and  crushing  it  ?  Therefore, 
I  resolved  in  a  moment  to  stop  the  game  of  guarding 
their  cities,  and  to  destroy  their  cities.  We  were  deter- 
mined to  produce  results,  and  now  what  were  those 
results?  To  make  every  man  woman  and  child  in  the 
South  feel  that  if  they  dared  to  rebel  against  the  flag  of 
their  country  they  must  die  or  submit." 

AN    ARMY    OF    INCENDIARIES. 

"The  plan  of  subjugation  adopted  by  Gen.  Sherman 
was  fully  comprehended  and  approved  by  his  army. 
His  officers  and  men  universally  justified  their  acts,  by 
declaring  that  it  was  'the  way  to  put  down  rebellion,  by 
burning  and  destroying  everything.' 

"Before  the  surrender  of  our  town,  the  soldiers  of  Gen. 
Sherman,  officers  and  privates,  declared  that  it  was  to 
be  destroyed.  'It  was,'  deposes  a  witness,  Mrs.  Rosa 


l62  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

I.  Meetze,  'the  common  talk  among  them,  at  the  village 
of  Lexington,  that  Columbia  was  to  be  burned  by  Gen. 
Sherman.' 

"At  the  same  place,  on  the  i6th  of  February,  1865,  as 
deposed  to  by  another  witness,  Mrs.  Frances  T.  Caugh- 
man,  the  general  officer  in  command  of  his  cavalry 
forces,  General  Kilpatrick,  said  in  reference  to  Colum- 
bia :  'Sherman  will  lay  it  in  ashes  for  them.' 

"  'It  was  the  general  impression  among  all  the  prison- 
ers we  captured,'  says  a  Confederate  officer,  Col.  J.  P. 
Austin,  of  the  pth  Kentucky  regular  cavalry,  'that 
Columbia  was  to  be  destroyed.' 

"On  the  morning  of  the  same  day  (February  16,  1865,) 
some  of  the  forces  of  Gen.  Sherman  appeared  on  the 
western  side  of  the  river,  and  without  a  demand  of  sur- 
render, or  any  previous  notice  of  their  purpose,  began 
to  shell  the  town,  then  filled  with  women,  children  and 
aged  persons,  and  continued  to  do  so,  at  intervals, 
throughout  the  day. 

"The  Confederate  forces  were  withdrawn,  and  the 
town  restored  to  the  control  of  the  municipal  authorities 
on  the  morning  of  the  iyth  of  February.  Accompanied 
by  three  of  the  aldermen,  the  mayor,  between  8  and  9 
o'clock  A.  M.,  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  Broad 
River  for  the  purpose  of  surrendering  the  city  to  Gen. 
Sherman.  Acting  in  concert  with  the  mayor,  the  officer 
in  command  of  the  rear  guard  of  the  Confederate  cavalry, 
Gen.  M.  C.  Butler,  forbore  from  further  resistance  to  the 
advance  of  the  opposing  enemy,  and  took  effectual  pre- 
cautions against  anvthing  being  done  which  might  pro- 


THE  DRAGONNADE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.     163 

voke   Gen.    Sherman   or  his  troops  to  acts  of  violence,' 
or  severity  towards  the  town  or  its  citizens. 

"The  surrender  of  Columbia  was  made  by  the  mayor 
and  aldermen  to  the  first  general  officer  of  the  hostile 
army  whom  they  met,  and  that  officer  promised  protec- 
tion to  the  town  and  its  inhabitants,  until  communication 
could  be  had  with  Gen.  Sherman,  and  the  terms  of 
surrender  arranged. 

SACKING    THE    CITY. 

"By  ii  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  town  was  in  possession  of 
the  Federal  forces,  the  first  detachment  entering  being 
the  command  of  the  officer  who  had  received  the  sur- 
render. They  had  scarcely  marched  into  the  town, 
however,  before  they  began  to  break  into  the  stores  of 
the  merchants,  appropriating  the  contents,  or  throwing 
them  in  the  streets  and  destroying  them. 

"As  other  bodies  of  troops  came  in,  the  pillage  grew 
more  general,  and  soon  the  sack  of  the  town  was 
universal.  Guards  were  in  general  sent  to  those  of  the 
citizens  who  applied  for  them,  but  in  numerous  instances 
they  proved  to  be  unable,  or  unwilling  to  perform  the 
duty  assigned  them.  Scarcely  a  single  household,  or 
family  escaped  altogether  from  being  plundered.  The 
streets  of  the  town  were  densely  filled  with  thousands  of 
Federal  soldiers,  drinking,  shouting,  carousing  and 
robbing  the  defenceless  inhabitants,  without  reprimand 
or  check  from  their  officers,  and  this  state  of  things  con- 
tinued until  night. 

"In  some  instances  guards  were  refused.    Papers  and 


164  LIFE   OF   GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

property  of  great  value  were  in  the  vaults  of  one  of  the 
city  banks,  while  the  apartments  above,  and  in  the  rear, 
were  occupied  by  women  and  children,  with  their  food 
and  clothing.  For  a  guard  to  protect  them,  application 
was  made  by  one  of  our  worthiest  and  most  respectable 
citizens,  Mr.  Edwin  J.  Scott,  first  to  the  general  officer, 
who  had  received  the  town,  Col.  Stone,  and  then  to  the 
provost  marshal,  Major  Jenkins.  The  response  made 
to  the  applicant  by  the  former  officer,  though  standing 
idle  in  the  crowd,  was  that  he  '  had  no  time  to  attend 
to  him,'  and  the  answer  of  the  latter  was,  'I  cannot 
undertake  to  protect  private  property.'  Between  2  and 
3  o'clock  P.  M.,  Gen.  Sherman  in  person  rode  into 
Columbia,  informed  the  mayor  that  his  letter  had  been 
received,  and  promised  protection  to  the  town.  Extra- 
ordinary license  was  allowed  to  his  soldiers  by  Gen. 
Sherman. 

IN    THE    HANDS    OF    HIS    FRIENDS. 

• 

"In  the  afternoon  of  the  i7th  of  February,  1865,  and 
shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Columbia,  the  mayor  of  the 
town,  at  the  request  of  Gen.  Sherman,  accompanied 
him  on  a  visit  to  a  lady  of  his  acquaintance.  While 
proceeding  to  her  residence,  Gen.  Sherman  began  to 
express  his  opinion  very  freely  upon  the  subject  of  our 
institution  of  slavery.  In  the  midst  of  his  remarks  he 
was  interrupted  by  the  sudden  and  near  report  of  a 
musket.  Immediately  before  them,  in  the  direction  they 
were  going,  they  observed  a  group  of  Federal  soldiers 
seeming  to  be  excited,  and  upon  approaching  they  saw 
;i  negro  lying  dead  directly  in  their  path,  being  shot 


THE  DRAGONNADE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.     165 

through  the  heart.  'Gen.  Sherman,'  the  mayor,  Dr. 
T.  J.  Goodwin,  narrates,  'asked  of  the  soldiers  "how 
came  the  negro  shot,"  and  was  answered  that  the  negro 
had  been  guilty  of  great  insolence  to  them,  and  that 
thereupon  Gen.  Sherman  remarked:  "Stop  this,  boys; 
this  is  all  wrong.  Take  away  the  body  and  bury  it." 
Gen.  Sherman,  continues  the  mayor,  then  stepped  over 
the  body  of  the  negro,  and  observed  to  this  deponent 
that  in  quiet  times  such  a  thing  ought  to  be  noticed,  but 
in  times  like  these  it  could  not  be  done.  Gen.  Sherman 
resumed  his  conversation  in  relation  to  slavery,  and  that 
no  arrest  was  ordered  or  any  censure  or  reprimand 
uttered  by  him  except  as  above  stated.  About  sundown/ 
as  the  mayor  deposes,  'Gen.  Sherman  said  to  him: 
"Go  home  and  rest  assured  that  your  city  will  be  as  safe 
in  my  hands  as  if  you  had  controlled  it."  He  added 
that  he  was  compelled  to  burn  some  of  the  public  build- 
ings, and  in  so  doing  did  riot  wish  to  destroy  one  particle 
of  private  property.  This  evening,  he  said,  was  too 
windy  to  do  anything.' 

''An  esteemed  clergyman,  the  Rev.  A.  Toomer  Porter, 
testifies  that  the  same  afternoon  between  6  and  7  o'clock 
Gen.  Sherman  said  to  him:  'You  must  know  a  great 
many  ladies;  go  around  and  tell  them  to  go  to  bed 
quietly ;  they  will  not  be  disturbed  any  more  than  if  my 
army  was  one  hundred  miles  off. '  He  seemed  oblivious 
of  the  fact  that  we  had  been  pillaged  and  insulted  the 
whole  day.  In  one  hour's  time  the  whole  city  was  in 
flames. 

* 'Meanwhile  the  soldiers  »f  Gen.  Sherman  had  burned 


l66  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

that  afternoon  many  houses  in  the  environs  of  the  town, 
including  the  dwelling  of  Gen.  Hampton,  with  that  ot 
his  sisters,  formerly  the  residence  of  their  father  and 
once  the  seat  of  genial  and  princely  hospitality. 

THREATS    AND    WARNINGS. 

"Throughout  the  day,  after  they  had  marched  into  the 
town,  the  soldiers  of  Gen.  Sherman  gave  distinct  and 
frequent  notice  to  the  citizens  of  the  impending  calamity, 
usually  in  the  form  of  direct  and  fierce  threats,  but 
occasionally  as  if  in  kindly  forewarning.  A  lady  of 
rare  worth  and  intelligence  and  of  high  social  position, 
Mrs.  L.  S.  McCord,  relates  the  following  incident: 
'One  of  my  maids  brought  me  a  paper  left,  she  told 
me,  by  a  Yankee  soldier  ;  it  was  an  ill-spelled,  but 
kindly  warning  of  the  horrors  to  come,  written  upon  a 
torn  sheet  of  my  dead  son's  note  book,  which,  with 
private  papers  of  every  kind,  now  strewed  my  yard. 
It  was  signed  by  a  lieutenant,  of  what  company  and 
regiment  I  did  not  take  note.  The  writer  said  he  had 
relatives  and  friends  at  the  South,  and  that  he  felt  for 
us ;  that  his  heart  bled  to  think  of  what  was  threatened. 
"Ladies,"  he  wrote,  "I  pity  you;  leave  this  town — go 
anywhere  to  be  safer  than  here."  This  was  written  in 
the  morning;  the  fires  were  in  the  evening  and  night.' 

"One  of  our  citizens,  of  great  intelligence  and  respec- 
tability, (Wm.  H.  Orchard,)  was  visited  about  7  P.  M. 
by  a  squad  of  some  six  or  seven  soldiers,  to  whose* 
depredations  he  submitted  with  a  composure  which 
seemed  to  impress  their  leader.  Of  his  conversation 


THE  DRAGONNADE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.     167 

with  this  person  the  gentleman  referred  to  testified  as 
follows:  'On  leaving  the  yard  he  called  to  me,  and 
said  he  wished  to  speak  to  me  alone.  He  then  said  to 
me  in  an  undertone:  "You  seem  to  be  a  clever  sort  of  a 
man  and  have  a  large  family,  so  I  will  give  you  some 
advice.  If  you  have  anything  you  wish  to  save  take 

care   of    it  at  once,   for  before  morning  this town 

will  be  in  ashes,  every  house  in  it."  My  only  reply  was, 
"Can  that  be  true  ?"  He  said,  "Yes,  and  if  you  do  not 
believe  me,  you  will  be  the  sufferer.  If  you  watch, 
you  will  see  three  rockets  go  up  soon,  and  if -you  do  not 
take  my  advice  you  will  see  h 1." 

SIGNAL    ROCKETS    AND    DISABLED    FIRE-HOSE. 

"Within  an  hour  afterwards  three  rockets  were  seen  to 
ascend  from  a  point  in  front  of  the  Mayor's  dwelling, 
But  a  few  minutes  elapsed  before  fires  in  quick  succes- 
sion broke  out,  and  at  intervals  so  distant  that  they  could 
not  have  been  communicated  from  the  one  to  the  other. 
At  various  parts  of  the  town  the  soldiers  of  Gen.  Sher- 
man, at  the  appearance  of  the  rockets,  declared  that 
they  were  appointed  signals  for  a  general  conflagration. 
The  fire  companies,  with  their  engines,  promptly  re- 
paired to  the  scene  of  the  fires,  and  endeavored  to  arrest 
them,  but  in  vain.  The  soldiers  of  Gen.  Sherman,  with 
bayonets  and  axes,  pierced  and  cut  the  hose,  disabled 
the  engines,  and  prevented  the  citizens  from  extinguish- 
ing the  flames.  The  wind  was  high,  and  blew  from  the 
west.  The  fires  spread  and  advanced  with  fearful 
rapidity,  and  soon  enveloped  the  very  heart  of  the  town. 


l68  LIFE    OF    GE.N.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

"The  pillage,  begun  upon  the  entrance  of  the  hostile 
forces,  continued  without  cessation  or  abatement,  and 
now  the  town  was  delivered  up  to  the  accumulated 
horrors  of  sack  or  conflagration.  The  inhabitants 
were  subjected  to  personal  indignities  and  outrages.  A 
witness,  Capt.  W.  B.  Stanley,  testifies  'that  several  times 
during  the  night  he  saw  the  soldiers  of  Sherman  take 
from  females  bundles  of  clothing  and  provisions,  open 
them,  appropriate  what  they  wanted  and  throw  the 
remainder  into  the  flames.'  Men  were  violently  seized 
and  threatened  with  the  halter,  or  pistol,  to  compel  them 
to  disclose  where  their  gold  or  silver  was  concealed. 

"The  revered  and  beloved  pastor  of  one  of  our 
churches,  the  Rev.  P.  J.  Shand,  states  that,  '  in  the 
midst  and  during  the  progress  of  the  appalling  calamity, 
above  all  other  noises  might  be  heard  the  demoniac  and 
gladsome  shouts  of  the  soldiery.'  Driven  from  his 
home  by  the  flames,  with  the  aid  of  a  servant  he  was 
bearing  off  a  trunk  containing  the  communion  plate  of 
his  church,  his  wife  walking  by  his  side,  when  he  was 
surrounded  by  five  of  the  soldiers,  who  required  him  to 
put  down  the  trunk  and  inform  them  of  its  contents, 
which  was  done.  The  sequel  he  thus  narrates:  'They 
then  demanded  the  key,  but  I  not  having  it  they  pro- 
ceeded in  their  efforts  to  break  the  lock.  While  four 
of  them  were  thus  engaged,  the  fifth  seized  me  with  his 
left  hand  by  the  collar,  and  presenting  a  pistol  to  my 
breast  with  his  right  he  demanded  of  me  my  watch.  I 
had  it  not  about  me,  but  he  searched  by  pockets  thor- 
oughly and  then  joined  his  comrades,  who,  finding  it 


GENERAL    OLIVER    O.    HOWAED, 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  169 

impracticable  to  force  open  the  lock,  took  up  the  trunk 
and  carried  it  away.  These  men,  he  adds,  were  all 
perfectly  sober.' 

"By  3  o'clock  A  M  on  the  night  of  the  iyth  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1865,  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  town  lay  in 
ashes,  composing  the  most  highly  improved  and  the 
entire  business  portion  of  it.  Thousands  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, including  women  delicately  reared,  young  chil- 
dren, the  aged  and  the  sick,  passed  that  winter  night  in 
the  open  air,  without  shelter  from  the  bitter  and  piercing 
blasts.  About  the  hour  mentioned,  3  o'clock  A.  M., 
another  highly  esteemed  clergyman,  the  Rev.  A.  Toomer 
Porter,  personally  known  to  Gen.  Sherman,  was  at  the 
corner  of  a  street  conversing  with  one  of  his  officers  on 
horseback,  when  Gen.  Sherman,  in  citizen's  attire, 
walked  up  and  accosted  him.  The  interview  is  thus 
described  : 

*  ORDER    THIS    THING    STOPPED.' 

"  'In  the  bright  light  of  the  burning  city  Gen.  Sher- 
man recognized  me  and  remarked:  "This  is  a  horrible 
sight."  "Yes,"  I  replied,  "when  you  reflect  that  women 
and  children  are  the  victims."  He  said:  "  Your  Gov- 
ernor is  responsible  for  this."  "How  so  ?"  I  replied. 
"Who  ever  heard,"  he  said,  "of  an  evacuated  city  to  be 
left  a  depot  of  liquor  for  an  army  to  occupy?  I  found  one 
hundred  and  twenty  casks  of  whiskey  in  one  cellar. 
Your  Governor,  being  a  lawyer  or  a  judge,  refused  to 
have  it  destroyed,  as  it  was  private  property,  and  now 
my  men  have  got  drunk  and  have  got  beyond  my  con- 
trol, and  this  is  the  result."  Perceiving  the  officer  on 


I7O  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

horseback,  he  said  :  "Capt.  Andrews,  did  I  not  order 
that  this  thing  should  be  stopped?"  "Yes,  General,"  said 
the  Captain;  "but  the  first  division  that  came  in  soon  got 
as  drunk  as  the  first  regiment  that  occupied  the  town." 
"Then,  sir,"  said  Gen.  Sherman,  "go  and  bring  in  the 
second  division.  I  hold  you  personally  responsible  for 
its  immediate  cessation."  The  officer  darted  off,  and 
Sherman  bid  me  good  evening.  I  am  sure  it  was  no 
more  than  an  hour  and  a-half  from  the  time  that  Gen. 
Sherman  gave  his  order  before  the  city  was  cleared  of 
the  destroyers.' 

"From  that  time  until  the  departure  of  Gen.  Sherman 
from  Columbia  (with  perhaps  one  or  two  exceptions)  not 
another  dwelling  in  it  was  burned  by  his  soldiers,  and 
during  the  succeeding  days  and  nights  of  his  occupancy 
perfect  tranquility  prevailed  throughout  the  town.  The 
discipline  of  his  troops  was  perfect,  the  soldiers 
standing  in  great  awe  of  their  officers.  That  Columbia 
was  burned  by  the  soldiers  of  Gen.  Sherman — that  the 
vast  majority  of  the  incendiaries  were  sober — that  for 
hours  they  were  seen  with  combustibles  firing  house 
after  house,  without  any  affectation  of  concealment  and 
without  the  slightest  check  from  their  officers,  is  estab- 
lished by  proof  full  to  repletion,  and  wearisome  from  its 
very  superfluity. 

"After  the  destruction  of  the  town  his  officers  and  men 
openly  approved  of  its  burning  and  exulted  in  it.  '  I 
saw,'  deposes  the  mayor,  'very  few  drunken  soldiers 
that  night.  Many  who  appeared  to  sympathize  with  our 
people  told  me  that  the  fate  and  doom  of  Columbia  had 


THE  DRAGONNADE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.     17 1 

been  common  talk  around  their  camp-fires  ever  since 
they  left  Savannah.' 

"It  was  said  by  numbers  of  the  soldiers  that  the  order 
had  been  given  to  burn  down  the  city.  There  is  strong 
evidence  that  such  an  order  was  actually  issued  in  rela- 
tion to  the  house  of  Gen.  Jno.  S.  Preston.  The  Ursuline 
Convent  was  destroyed  by  the  fire,  and  the  proof  referred 
to  comes  from  a  revered  and  honored  member  of  that 
holy  sisterhood — the  Mother  Superior  ;  and  it  is  sub- 
joined in  her  own  words  : 

"  'Our  convent  was  consumed  in  the  general  con- 
flagration of  Columbia.  Ourselves  and  pupils  were 
forced  to  fly,  leaving  provisions,  clothing,  and  almost 
everything.  We  spent  the  night  in  the  open  air  in 
the  churchyard.  On  the  following  morninig  Gen.  Sher- 
man made  a  visit,  expressed  nis  regret  at  the  burning 
of  6*ur  convent,  disclaimed  the  act,  attributing  it  to 
the  intoxication  of  his  soldiers,  and  told  me  to  choose 
any  house  in  town  for  a  convent  and  it  should  be  ours. 
He  deputed  his  Adjutant-General,  Col.  Ewing,  to  act  in 
his  stead.  Col.  Ewing  reminded  us  of  Gen.  Sherman's 
offer  to  give  us  any  house  in  Columbia  we  might  choose 
for  a  convent.  "We  have  thought  of  it,"  said  we,  "and 
of  asking  for  Gen.  Preston's  house,  which  is  large." 
"That  is  where  Gen.  Logan  holds  his  headquarters," 
said  he,  "and  orders  have  already  been  given,  I  know, 
to  burn  it  on  to-morrow  morning ;  but  if  you  say  you 
will  take  it  for  a  convent  I  will  speak  to  the  General, 
and  the  order  will  be  countermanded."  On  the  follow- 
ing morning,  after  many  inquiries,  we  learned  from  the 


172  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

officer  in  charge,  (Gen.  Perry,  I  think,)  that  his  orders 
were  to  fire  it,  unless  the  Sisters  were  in  actual  posses- 
sion of  it,  but  if  even  a  detachment  of  Sisters  were  in  it 
it  should  be  spared  on  their  account.  Accordingly  we 
took  possession  of  it,  although  fires  were  already  kindled 
near,  and  the  servants  were  carrying  off  the  bedding  and 
furniture,  in  view  of  the  house  being  consigned  to  the 
flames.' 

GRATIFYING    THE    GENERAL. 

"Although  orders  for  the  actual  burning  of  the  town 
may  not  have  been  given,  the  soldiers  of  Gen.  Sherman 
certainly  believed  that  its  destruction  would  not  be  dis- 
pleasing to  him.  That  such  was  their  impression  we 
have  the  authority  of  a  personage  not  less  distinguished 
than  the  officer  of  highest  rank  in  the  army  of  invaders, 
next  after  the  commander-in-chief  himself.  The  proof 
is  beyond  impeachment.  It  comes  from  the  honored 
pastor  of  one  of  our  city  churches,  (the  Rev.  P.  J. 
Shand,)  to  whom  reference  has  already  been  made,  and 
it  is  thus  expressed  in  his  written  statement  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  committee: 

"  'As  well  as  I  recollect,  November,  1865,  I  went  in 
company  with  a  friend,  to  see  Gen.  Howard,  at  his  head- 
quarters in  Charleston,  on  matters  of  business.  Before 
we,  left  the  conversation  turned  on  the  destruction  of 
Columbia.  Gen.  Howard  expressed  his  regret  at  the 
occurrence,  and  added  the  following  words:  "Though 
Gen.  Sherman  did  not  order  the  burning  of  the  town, 
yet,  somehow  or  other,  the  men  had  taken  up  the  idea 
that  if  they  destroyed  the  capital  of  South  Carolina^  it 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  173 

would  be  peculiarly  gratifying  to  Gen.  Sherman."  These 
were  his  words,  in  the  order  in  which  I  set  them  forth. 
I  noted  them  down  as  having  great  significance,  and 
they  are  as  fresh  in  my  remembrance  as  they  were 
immediately  after  they  were  spoken.  My  friend  (whose 
recollection  accords  fully  with  my  own)  and  myself,  on 
our  way  home,  talked  the  matter  over,  and  could  not 
but  be  struck  by  the  two  following  facts:  First,  that 
although  Gen.  Howard  said  that  Gen.  Sherman  did  not 
order  the  burning,  he  did  not  state  that  Gen.  Sherman 
gave  order  that  the  city  should  not  be  burned.  Second, 
that  it  was  surprising,  if  Gen.  Sherman  was  opposed  to 
the  burning,  that  his  opposition  should  have  been  so 
disguised,  as  to  lead  to  the  conviction  on  the  part  of  his 
soldiery  that  the  act,  so  far  from  incurring  his  disappro- 
bation or  censure,  would  be  a  source  to  him  of  peculiar 
gratification.' 

"The  cotton  bales  in  the  town  had  been  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  wide  streets,  in  order  to  be  burned  to  pre- 
vent their  falling  into  the  possession  of  the  invaders. 
But  upon  Gen.  Hampton's  suggesting  that  this  might 
endanger  the  town,  and  that,  as  the  South  Carolina 
railroad  had  been  destroyed,  Ihe  cotton  could  not  be 
removed,  Gen.  Beauregard,  upon  this  representation, 
directed  Gen.  Hampton  to  issue  an  order  that  the  cotton 
should  not  be  burned.  The  proof  of  this  fact  is  to  be 
found  in  the  written  statement  of  Gen.  Beauregard  him- 
self. Accordingly,  and  in  due  time,  the  order  forbid- 
ding the  burning  of  the  cotton  w^s  issued  by  Gen. 
Hampton,  and  communicated  to  the  Confederate  troops. 


174  L1FE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

The   officer  then    acting    as  Gen.    Hampton's   adjutant 
(Capt.  Rawlins  Lowndes)  speaks  as  follows: 

THE  'BURNING  COTTON*  MYTH. 

"  'Soon  after  Gen.  Hampton  assumed  command  of  the 
cavalry,  which  he  did  on  the  morning  of  the  i7th  of 
February,  he  told  me  that  Gen.  Beauregard  had  deter- 
mined not  to  burn  the  cotton,  as  the  Yankees  had 
destroyed  the  railroad,  and  directed  me  to  issue  an  order 
that  no  cotton  should  be  fired.  This  I  did  at  once,  and 
the  same  order  was  extended  to  the  cavalry  throughout 
their  march  through  South  and  North  Carolina.' 

"The  general  officer  commanding  the  division  forming 
the  rear  guard  of  the  Confederate  cavalry  (Gen.  M.  C. 
Butler)  deposes:  'That  he  was  personally  present  with 
the  rear  squadron  of  this  division;  that  Lieut.-Gen. 
Wade  Hampton  withdrew  simultaneously  with  him,  with 
a  part  of  this  deponent's  command,  and  that  Gen. 
Hampton,  on  the  morning  of  the  evacuation  and  the  day 
previous,  directed  him  that  the  cotton  must  not  be  set  on 
fire ;  and  this  order,  he  adds,  was  communicated  to  the 
entire  division,  and  strictly  observed.' 

"A  clergyman,  highly  esteemed  at  the  North,  as  well 
as  at  the  South,  (Rev.  A.  Toomer  Porter),  thus  testifies: 
'Gen.  Hampton  had  told  me  at  daylight,  in  answer  to 
the  question  whether  he  was  going  to  burn  the  cotton, 
"No;  the  wind  is  high;  it  might  catch  something  and 
give  Sherman  an  excuse  to  burn  the  town.' ' 

"  'Between  8  and  9  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  i7th 
of  February,'  deposes  the  mayor,  'Gen.  Hampton, 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF   SOUTH    CAROLINA.          175 

whilst  on  his  horse,  observed  some  cotton  piled  not  far 
off  in  the  middle  of  the  street.  He  advised  me  to  put  a 
guard  over  it,  saying,  "some  careless  ones,  by  smoking, 
might  set  it  on  fire,  and  in  doing  so  endanger  the  city." 
From  that  hour  I  saw  nothing  more  of  Gen.  Hampton 
until  the  war  was  over.' 

"Not  one  bale  of  the  cotton  had  been  fired  by  the  Con- 
federate troops  when  they  withdrew  from  Columbia. 
'The  only  thing  on  fire  at  the  time  of  the  evacuation 
was  the  depot  building  of  the  South  Carolina  Railroad, 
which  caught  fire  accidentally  from  the  explosion  of 
some  amunition.'  This  is  the  statement  of  Gen.  Beau- 
regard  himself.  It  is  sustained  by  the  testimony  of  the 
officer,  high  in  rank  but  higher  still  in  character,  who 
commanded  the  rear  guard  of  the  Confederate  cavalry, 
(Gen.  M.  C.  Butler,)  and  is  concurred  in  by  other  wit- 
nesses, comprising  officers,  clergymen,  and  citizens — 
witnesses  of  such  repute  and  such  numbers  as  to  render 
the  proof  overwhelming. 

"The  fire  at  the  South  Carolina  Railroad  depot  burnt 
out  without  extending  to  any  other  buildings.  Shortly 
after  the  first  detachment  of  Gen.  Sherman's  troops  had 
entered  the  town,  and  whilst  the  men  were  seated  or 
reclining  on  the  cotton  bales  in  Main  street,  and  passing 
to  and  fro  along  them  with  lighted  cigars  and  pipes,  the 
row  of  cotton  bales  between  Washington  and  Lady 
streets  caught  fire,  the  bales  being  badly  packed,  with 
the  cotton  protruding  from  them.  The  flames  extended 
swiftly  over  the  cotton,  and  the  fire  companies  with  their 
engines  were  called  out,  and  by  i  o'clock  P.  M .  the  fire 


176  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

was  effectually  extinguished.  While  the  fire  companies 
were  engaged  about  the  cotton  an  alarm  was  given  of 
fire  in  the  jail,  and  one  of  the  engines  being  sent  there 
the  flames  were  soon  subdued,  with  slight  injury  only  to 
one  of  the  cells. 

"About  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  as  deposed  by  a 
witness,  Mrs.  E.  Squire,  the  cotton  bales  in  Sumter 
street,  between  Washington  and  Lady  streets,  were  set 
on  fire  by  Gen.  Sherman's  wagon  train,  then  passing 
along  the  cotton.  But  that  fire  was  soon  extinguished 
by  the  efforts  of  the  witness  referred  to  and  her  family. 
'I  saw,'  says  a  witness,  Mr.  John  McKenzie,  'fire 
balls  thrown  out  of  the  wagons  against  the  Hon.  W.  F. 
DeSaussure's  house,  but  without  doing  any  damage.' 
No  other  fires  in  the  town  occurred  until  after  night, 
when  the  general  conflagration  began.  As  already 
stated,  the  wind  blew  from  the  west,  but  the  fires  after 
night  broke  out  first  on  the  west  of  Main  and  Sumter 
streets,  where  the  cotton  bales  were  placed.  'The 
cotton,'  it  is  testified  and  proved  by  Mr.  Ed.  J.  Scott, 
'instead  of  burning  the  houses  was  burnt  by  them.' 

HIS  'DRUNKEN  SOLDIERS.' 

"Gen.  Sherman,  as  has  been  shown,  on  the  night  of 
the  lyth  of  February,  and  while  the  town  was  in  flames, 
ascribed  the  burning  of  Columbia  to  the  intoxication  of 
his  soldiers,  and  to  no  other  cause.  On  the  following 
day,  the  i8th  of  February,  the  lady  to  whom  reference 
was  first  made  (Mrs.  L.  S.  McCord,)  at  the  request  of 
a  friend,  having  undertaken  to  present  a  paper  to  Gen. 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  177 

Howard,  sought  an  interview  with  that  officer,  second 
in  command  of  the  invading  army,  and  found  Gen. 
Sherman  with  him.  Her  narrative  of  a  part  of  the 
interview  is  as  follows  : 

"  'I  handed  him  the  paper,  which  he  glanced  at,  and 
then  in  a  somewhat  subdued  voice,  but  standing  so  near 
Gen.  Sherman  that  I  think  it  impossible  that  the  latter 
could  have  help  hearing  him,  he  said:  "You  may  rest 

satisfied,  Mrs. ,  that  there  will  be  nothing  of  the 

kind  happening  to-night.  The  truth  is,  our  men  last 
night  got  beyond  our  control;  many  of  them  were  shot, 
many  of  them  were  killed ;  there  will  be  no  repetition  of 
these  things  to-night.  I  assure  you  there  will  be 
nothing  of  the  kind;  to-night  will  be  perfectly  quiet." 
And  it  was  quiet,  peaceful  as  the  grave,  the  ghost  of  its 
predecessor.' 

"  'The  same  day,  i8th  February,  Gen.  Sherman,' 
deposes  the  mayor,  'sent  for  me.  I -went  to  see  him 
about  i  o'clock.  He  met  me  very  cordially,  and  said 
he  regretted  very  much  that  our  city  was  burnt,  and 
that  it  was  my  fault.  I  asked  him  how?  He  said  in 
suffering  ardent  spirits  to  be  left  in  the  city  after  it  was 
evacuated,  saying,  "who  could  command  drunken 
soldiers?"  There  was  no  allusion  ~iade  to  Gen.  Hamp- 
ton, to  accident,  or  to  cotton.' 

"On  the  succeeding  day,  Sunday,  ipth  February, 
1865,  the  mayor  and  six  of  the  citizens  visited  Gen. 
Sherman,  in  order  to  obtain  food  for  the  subsistence  of 
the  women  and  children,  until  communication  could  be 
had  with  the  country.  Gen.  Sherman  upon  that  occa- 


178  LIFE    OF   GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

sion  talked  much.  'In  the  course  of  his  discourse,' 
deposes  one  of  the  gentlemen,  (Mr.  Edwin  I.  Scott,) 
'he  referred  to  the  burning  of  the  city,  admitting  that 
it  was  done  by  his  troops,  but  excusing  them  because, 
as  he  alleged,  they  had  been  made  drunk  by  our 
citizens,  one  of  whom,  a  druggist,  he  said  had  brought 
a  pail  full  of  spirits  to  them  on  their  arrival.  Again,  on 
our  leaving  the  room,  he  expressed  regret  that  the  liquor 
had  not  been  destroyed  before  his  men  entered  the 
place,  but  he  never  mentioned  or  alluded  in  any  way  to 
Gen.  Hampton,  or  the  cotton,  nor  gave  the  slightest  inti- 
mation that  they  were  instrumental  in  the  destruction  of 
the  city.' 

"  'At  that  time,'  deposes  the  same  witness,  'the  uni- 
versal testimony  of  our  people  was  that  Sherman's 
troops  burnt  the  town.  Since  then  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  daily  intercourse  with  all  classes  in  and  about 
Columbia,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  male  and 
female,  whites  and  blacks,  yet  I  have  not  met  with  a 
single  person  who  attributed  the  calamity  to  any  other 
cause.  If,  he  adds,  a  transaction  that  occurred  in  the 
presence  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand  people  can  be  success- 
fully falsified  then  all  human  testimony  is  worthless.' 

A    DESOLATED    COUNTRY. 

"As  evidence  of  the  general  distress  and  suffering 
which  resulted  from  the  sack  and  burning  of  our  city, 
and  the  desolation  of  the  adjoining  country,  the  com- 
mittee refer  to  the  fact,  established  by  unimpeachable 
testimony,  that  for  about  three  months  daily  rations, 
consisting  generally  of  a  pint  of  meal  and  a  small 


THE    DRAGONNADE    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  179 

allowance  of  poor  beef  for  each  person,  were  dealt  out 
at  Columbia  to  upwards  of  8,000  sufferers. 

"Of  the  suffering  and  distress  of  the  individual  inhabi- 

O 

tants,  some  conception  may  be  collected  from  the  expe- 
rience of  one  of  them,  (Mrs.  Agnes  Law,)  a  lady  more 
venerable  for  her  virtues  even  than  for  her  age,  whose 
narrative,  almost  entire,  we  venture  to  introduce: 

"  'I  am  72  years  old,'  she  deposes,  'and  have  lived  in 
this  town  forty-eight  years.  My  dwelling  was  a  brick 
house,  three  stories,  slate  roof,  with  large  gardens  on 
two  sides.  When  Columbia  was  burnt  my  sister  was 
with  me;  also  a  niece  of  mine,  recently  confined,  who 
had  not  yet  ventured  out  of  the  house.  When  Gen. 
Sherman  took  possession  I  got  four  guards ;  they  were 
well-behaved  and  sober  men.  I  gave  them  supper. 
One  lay  down  on  the  sofa,  the  others  walked  about. 
When  the  city  began  to  burn  I  wished  to  move  my  fur- 
niture. They  objected,  and  said  my  house  was  in  no 
danger.  Not  long  afterwards  these  guards  themselves 
took  lighted  candles  from  the  mantlepiece  and  went  up- 
stairs; at  the  same  time  other  soldiers  crowded  into 
the  house.  My  sister  followed  them  up-stairs,  but 
came  down  very  soon  to  say,  "They  are  setting  the  cur- 
tains on  fire."  Soon  the  whole  house  was  in  a  blaze. 
When  those  who  set  fire  up  stairs  came  down  they  said 
to  me,  "Old  woman,  if  you  do  not  mean  to  burn  up  with 
the  house  you  had  better  get  out  of  it."  My  niece  had 
been  carried  up  to  the  Taylor  house  on  Arsenal  Hill. 
I  went  to  the  door  to  see  if  I  could  get  any  person  I 
knew  to  assist  me  up  there.  I  had  been  very  sick.  I 
could  see  no  friend — onlv  crowds  of  Federal  soldiers. 


l8o  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

I  was  afraid  I  should  fall  in  the  street  and  be  burnt  up 
in  the  flames  of  the  houses  blazing  on  both  sides  of  the 
street.  I  had  to  go  alone.  I  spent  that  night  at  the 
Taylor  house,  which  a  Federal  officer  said  should  not 
be  burned  out  of  pity  for  my  niece.  The  next  two 
nights  I  passed  in  my  garden,  without  any  shelter.  I 
have  been  for  over  fifty  years  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  I  cannot  live  long.  I  shall  meet  Gen. 
Sherman  and  his  soldiers  at  the  bar  of  God,  and  I  give 
this  testimony  against  them  in  the  full  view  of  that  dread 
tribunal.' 

"The  committee  have  designed,  by  the  preceding 
summary  of  the  more  prominent  events  and  incidents 
connected  with  the  destruction  of  Columbia,  to  present 
only  an  abstract  of  the  numerous  depositions  and  proofs 
in  their  possession.  The  proprieties  imposed  upon  them 
by  the  very  nature  of  the  duties  to  which  they  have  been 
assigned  have  precluded  their  doing  more.  In  the  evi- 
dence thus  collected  may  be  read,  in  all  its  pathetic  and 
heartrendering  details,  the  story  of  the  tragic  fate  that 
has  befallen  our  once  beautiful  city,  now  in  ashes  and 
ruins.  Impressed  with  the  historic  value  of  the  proofs 
referred  to,  and  their  importance  to  the  cause  of  truth, 
and  with  a  view  to  their  preservation,  the  committee 
respectfully  recommend  that  they  be  committed  to  the 
guardianship  of  the  municipal  authorities,  and  be  de- 
posited with  the  archives  of  the  town,  trusting  that  in 
after  and  better  times  they  will  yet  be  found  effectual  as 
well  to  vindicate  the  innocent  as  to  confound  the  guilty. 

.   J.  P.  CARROTS,  Chairman." 
May,  1866. 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     iSl 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Q  HERMAN  burnt  Columbia  February  17,  1865,  and 
**r  then  pushed  on  to  Fayetteville,  on  the  Cape  Fear. 
His  campaign  was  an  able  one,  for  he  kept  in  touch 
with  salt  water  from  the  time  he  reached  it  at  Savannah 
up  to  the  surrender  of  Johnston's  army. 

At  Fayetteville  he  opened  communication  with  Gen. 
Terry  on  March  I2th,  the  Federals  having  taken  Fort 
Fisher,  and  occupied  Wilmington. 

From  there  he  moved  on  to  Goldsborough,  N.  C., 
where  he  expected  to  be  joined  by  Schofield  and  his 
23,000  reinforcements. 

When  Cornwallis  pursued  Greene,  in  February,  1781, 
just  eighty-four  years  before,  he  moved  through  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  State.  When  he  retreated,  after  the  battle 
of  Guilford  court-house,  he  fell  back  to  Cross  creek, 
now  Fayetteville,  so  a  part  of  his  march  was  over  the 
same  country  that  Sherman  moved  over.  On  his 
advance  he  was  attacked  everywhere.  His  pickets 
were  fired  on  in  the  night;  his  scouts  were  shot  down 

O          * 

from  the  bush.  Graham,  with  a  handful  of  country 
boys,  held  him  back  at  Charlotte,  "the  Hornet's  Nest," 
for  half  a  day.  But  Cornwallis  burnt  no  towns;  he 
laid  waste  no  plantations ;  his  soldiers  hung  no  old  men, 
and  dug  up  no  children's  corpses,  to  get  treasure. 

When  he  reached  Fayetteville  on  his  way  to  Wil- 


l82  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

mington,  his  troops  halted  one  day  in  the  road  in  front 
of  a  plantation  house.  The  mistress  of  the  house,  a  gay 
and  beautiful  young  matron  of  eighteen,  with  the  im- 
pulsive curiosity  of  a  child,  ran  out  on  the  front  piazza 
to  gaze  at  the  pageant. 

A  party  of  officers  dismounted  and  approached  the 
house,  when  she  asked  the  foremost  "Was  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  there?  She  wanted  to  see  a  Lord." 

"Madame,"  said  the  gentleman,  removing  his  hat, 
"I  am  Lord  Cornwallis."  Then,  with  the  formal 
courtesy  of  the  day,  he  led  her  into  the  house,  giving  to 
the  frightened  family  every  assurance  of  protection. 
With  the  high  breeding  of  a  gentleman,  and  the  frank- 
ness of  a  soldier,  he  won  all  hearts  during  his  stay,  from 
the  venerable  grandmother  to  the  gay  girl  who  first 
accosted  him. 

While  the  army  remained,  not  an  article  was  disturbed 
on  the  plantation,  though,  as  he  himself  warned  them, 
there  were  stragglers  in  his  wake,  whom  he  could  not 
detect,  and  who  failed  not  to  do  what  mischief  they 
could,  in  the  way  of  plundering,  after  he  had  passed. 

That  girl's  grand-daughters  now  tell  that  story  of 
chivalry  and  respect  for  defenceless  women. 

Her  grandson,  Charles  B.  Mallett,  Esq.,  tells  this 
story  of  that  other  army  that  passed  there,  in  1865, 
eighty-four  years  afterwards: 

"The  china  and  glassware  were  all  carried  out  of  the 
house  by  the  Federal  soldiers,  and  deliberately  smashed 
in  the  yard.  The  furniture — piano,  beds,  tables,  bu- 
reaus— were  all  cut  to  pieces  with  axes;  the  pantries 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     183 

and  smoke-houses  were  stripped  of  their  contents ;  the 
negro  houses  were  all  plundered;  the  poultry,  cows, 
horses,  &c.,  were  shot  down  and  carried  off,  and  then, 
after  this,  all  the  houses  were  fired  and  burnt  to  the 
ground." 

The  cotton  factory  belonging  to  the  family  was  burned 
as  were  also  six  others  near  Fayetteville.  John  M.  Rose, 
Esq.,  a  near  neighbor  of  the  Malletts,  says:  "They 
plundered  my  house  of  everything  and  robbed  all  the 
negroes.  They  fired  the  buildings  and  fences  and  left 
a  dozen  slaughtered  cattle  in  my  yard." 

Four  gentlemen  were  hung  by  the  neck  until  nearly 
dead  to  force  them  to  tell  where  valuables  were  hidden. 

The  property  taken  from  another  family,  in  jewels, 
plate,  money,  &c.,  was  estimated  to  be  worth  $25,000 
in  gold.* 

Governor  Z.  B.  Vance,  who  was  governor  of  North 
Carolina  during  the  war,  and  has  been  her  represent- 
ative in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  nearly  ever 
since,  has  drawn  the  contrast  between  the  invasion  by 
Cornwallis  and  Tarleton,  in  1781,  and  Sherman  and 
Kilpatrick,  in  1865.  He  says: 

"On  the  ist  day  of  February,  1805,  tnat  movement 
began.  With  irresistible  force  his  columns  began  their 
march  through  the  southern  regions  of  South  Carolina 
towards  Columbia,  and  apparently  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina,  and  so  on  into  Virginia  along  the  track  of 
Sherman's  last  great  predecessor,  Lord  Cornwallis,  in 
1781.  But  whether  it  was  that  he  feared  the  winter 

*  The  Last  Ninety  Days  of  the  War.— p.  65. 


184  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

mud  of  the  North  Carolina  hill  country,  or  that  he  did 
not  care  to  trust  himself  to  such  combinations  of  the 
Confederates  as  might  cross  his  path  so  far  in  the 
interior,  he  left  Lord  Cornwallis'  track  near  Winnsboro', 
South  Carolina,  and  turning  to  the  right  made  for  Fay- 
etteville,  crossing  the  Catavvba  and  the  Great  Pedee. 
His  army  marched  in  two  great  divisions,  near  a  day's 
march  apart,  thus  covering  and  devastating  a  wide 
expanse  of  country.  With  reference  to  this  famous  and 
infamous  march,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  hope  I  am  too 
much  of  a  man  to  complain  of  the  natural  and  inevitable 
hardships,  or  even  cruelties,  of  war;  but  of  the  manner 
in  which  this  army  treated  the  peaceful  and  defenceless 
inhabitants  in  the  reach  of  its  columns,  all  civilization 
should  complain.  There  are  always  stragglers  and 
desperadoes,  following  in  the  wake  of  an  army,  who  do 
some  damage  to,  and  inflict  some  outrages  upon  helpless 
citizens,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  commanding  officers 
to  restrain  and  punish ;  but  when  a  General  organizes  a 
corps  of  thieves  and  plunderers  as  a  part  of  his  invad- 
ing army,  and  licenses  beforehand  their  outrages,  he 
and  all  who  countenance,  aid  or  abet,  invite  the  execra- 
tion of  mankind.  This  peculiar  arm  of  the  military 
service,  it  is  charged  and  believed,  was  instituted  by 
Gen.  Sherman  in  his  invasion  of  the  Southern  States. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  operations  of  his  'Bummer  Corps' 
were  as  regular  and  as  unrebuked,  if  not  as  much  com- 
mended for  efficiency,  as  any  other  division  of  his  army, 
and  their  atrocities  are  often  justified  or  excused  on  the 
ground  that  'such  is  war.' 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     185 

"In  his  own  official  report  of  his  operations  in  Georgia, 
he  says:  'We  consumed  the  corn  and  fodder  in  the 
region  of  country  thirty  miles  on  either  side  of  a  line 
from  Atlanta  to  Savannah;  also  the  sweet  potatoes, 
hogs,  sheep  and  poultry,  and  carried  off  more  than  ten 
thousand  horses  and  mules.  I  estimate  the  damage 
done  to  the  State  of  Georgia  at  one  hundred  million 
dollars,  at  least  twenty  million  of  which  inured  to  our 
benefit,  and  the  remainder  was  simply  waste  and 
destruction!'  The  same  chivalric  course  of  warfare 
was  continued,  only  worse,  through  South  and  North 
Carolina.  The  'remainder ','  delicately  alluded  to — that 
is  to  say,  the  damage  done  to  the  unresisting  inhabitants, 
over  and  above  the  seizing  of  necessary  army  supplies, 
consisted  in  private  houses  burned;  stock  shot  down  and 
left  to  rot;  bed  clothes,  money,  watches,  spoons,  plate 
and  ladies'  jewelry  stolen,  &c.,  &c.  A  lane  of  desola- 
tion sixty  miles  wide,  through  the  heart  of  three  great 
States,  marked  by  more  burnings  and  destruction  than 
ever  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  wildest  cyclone  that 
ever  laid  forest  low!  And  all  done,  not  to  support  an 
invading  army,  but  for  "pure  waste  and  destruction;"  to 
punish  the  crime  of  rebellion,  not  in  the  persons  of 
those  who  had  brought  these  things  about,  but  of  the 
peaceful  non-combatants,  the  tillers  of  the  soil,  the 
women  and  children,  the  aged  and  feeble,  and  the  poor 
slaves!  A  silver  spoon  was  evidence  of  disloyalty;  a 
ring  on  a  lady's  ringer  was  sure  proof  of  sympathy  with 
rebellion ;  whilst  a  gold  watch  was  prima  facia  evidence 
of  most  damnable  guilt  on  the  part  of  the  wearer.  These 


l86  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

obnoxious  ear-marks  of  treason  must  be  seized  and  con- 
fiscated for  private  use — for  such  is  war! 

"As  proof  that  these  things  met  the  approbation  of  the 
officers  of  that  army,  hundreds  of  instances  can  be  cited, 
where  the  depredations  were  committed  in  full  view  of 
the  officers.  Many  can  be  shown  where  they  partici- 
pated in  the  plunder;  and  no  where  has  any  case  come 
under  my  observation,  or  under  my  knowledge,  in  which 
the  perpetrators  were  even  rebuked,  much  less  punished. 
In  vain  did  the  terrified  people  secrete  their  valuables 
upon  the  approach  of  Sherman's  army;  with  infernal 
skill  this  corps  of  bummers  maintained  their  high  repu- 
tation as  the  most  expert  thieves  on  earth,  by  ransacking 
every  conceivable  place  of  concealment,  penetrating 
every  suspicious  spot  of  earth  with  their  ramrods  and 
bayonets,  searching  every  cellar,  out-house,  nook  and 
cranny. 

"If  these  failed,  and  they  sometimes  did,  torture  of 
the  inhabitants  was  freely  employed  to  force  disclo- 
sure. Sometimes,  with  noble  rage  at  their  disappoint- 
ment, the  victims  were  left  dead,  as  a  warning  to  all 
others  who  should  dare  hide  a  jewel,  or  a  family  trinket 
from  the  cupidity  of  a  'Soldier  of  the  Union.'  No  doubt 
the  stern  necessity  for  such  things  caused  great  pain  to 
those  who  inflicted  them,  but  the  Union  must  be  restored, 
and  how  could  that  be  done  whilst  a  felonious  gold 
watch,  or  treasonable  spoon,  was  suffered  to  remain  in 
the  land,  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  rebellion?  For  such 
is  war!  Are  such  things  war,  indeed?  Let  us  see: 

"Eighty-four  years  before  that  time,  there  was  a  war 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     187 

in  that  same  country;  it  was  a  rebellion,  too,  and  an 
English  nobleman  led  the  troops  of  Great  Britain  through 
that  same  region,  over  much  of  the  same  route,  in  his 
efforts  to  subdue  that  rebellion.  The  people  through 
whose  land  he  marched  were  bitterly  hostile ;  they  shot 
his  foraging  parties,  his  sentinels  and  stragglers-  the 
fired  upon  him  from  every  wood. 

"He  and  his  troops  had  every  motive  to  ..ate  and  to 
punish  those  rebellious  and  hostile  people.  It  so  hap- 
pens that  the  original  order-book  of  Lord  Cornwallis  is 
in  possession  of  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Society. 
I  have  seen  and  read  it.  Let  us  make  a  few  extracts, 
and  see  what  he  considered  war,  and  what  he  thought 
to  be  the  duty  of  a  civilized  soldier  towards  non-com- 
batants and  the  helpless  : 

"CAMP  NEAR  BEATTY'S  FORD,") 
January  28,  1781.       \ 

"Lord  Cornwallis  has  so  often  experienced  the  zeal 
and  good  will  of  the  army,  that  he  has  not  the  smallest 
doubt  that  the  officers  and  soldiers  will  most  cheerfully 
submit  to  the  ill  conveniences  that  must  naturally  attend 
war,  so  remote  from  water-carriage  and  the  magazines 
of  the  army.  The  supply  of  rum  for  a  time  will  be 
absolutely  impossible,  and  that  of  meal  very  uncertain. 
It  is  needless  to  point  out  to  the  officers  the  necessity  of 
preserving  the  strictest  discipline,  and  of  preventing  the 
oppressed  people  from-  suffering  violence  by  the  hands 
from  whom  they  are  taught  to  look  for  protection.' 

"Now,  Gen.  Sherman  was  fighting,  as  he  said,  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  restoring  the  Union,  and  for  making  the 
people  of  the  rebellious  States  look  to  the  Union  for  pro- 
tection. Does  any  act  or  order  of  his  anywhere  indicate 
a  similar  desire  of  protecting  the  people  from  suffering 
at  the  hands  of  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  protect  them? 


l88  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

"Again — 

'HEADQUARTERS,  CANSLER'S    PLANTATION/  ) 

February  2 1  1781.       f 

'Lord  Cornwallis  is  highly  displeased  that  several 
houses  have  been  set  on  fire  to-day  during  the  march — 
a  disgrace  to  the  army — and  he  will  punish  to  the  utmost 
severity  any  person  or  persons  who  shall  be  found  guilty 
of  committing  so  disgraceful  an  outrage.  His  Lordship 
requests  the  commanding  officers  of  the  corps  will  en- 
endeavor  to  find  the  persons  who  set  fire  to  the  houses 
this  day.' 

"Now,  think  of  the  march  of  Sherman's  army,  which 
could  be  discovered  a  great  way  off  by  the  smoke  of 
burning  homesteads  by  day  and  the  lurid  glare  of  flames 
by  night,  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah,  from  Columbia  to 
Fayetteville,  and  suppose  that  such  an  order  as  this  had 
been  issued  by  its  commanding  officer,  and  rigidly  ex- 
ecuted, would  not  the  mortality  have  been  quite  equal  to 
that  of  a  great  battle? 

"Arriving  in  Fayetteville  on  the  loth  of  March,  1865, 
he  not  only  burned  the  Arsenal — one  of  the  finest  in  the 
United  States — which,  perhaps,  he  might  have  properly 
done,  but  he  also  burned  five  private  dwelling-houses 
nearby;  he  burned  the  principal  printing  office,  that  of 
the  old  'Fayetteville  Observer;'  he  burned  the  old 
Bank  of  North  Carolina,  eleven  large  warehouses,  five 
cotton  mills,  and  quite  a  number  of  private  dwellings  in 
other  parts  of  the  town,  whilst  in  the  suburbs  almost  a 
clean  sweep  was  made.  In  one  locality  nine  houses 
were  burned.  Universally,  houses  were  gutted  before 
they  were  burned;  and,  after  everything  portable  was 
secured,  the  furniture  was  ruthlessly  destroyed.  Pianos, 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     189 

on  which  perhaps  rebel  tunes  had  been  played — 'Dixie' 
or  'My  Maryland' — disloyal  bureaus,  traitorous  tables 
and  chairs  were  cut  to  pieces  with  axes ;  and  frequently, 
after  all  this  damage,  fire  was  applied  and  all  consumed. 
Carriages  and  vehicles  of  all  kinds  were  wantonly  de- 
stroyed or  burned.  Instances  could  be  given  of  old  men 
who  had  the  shoes  taken  from  their  feet,  the  hats  from 
their  heads  and  clothes  from  their  persons ;  their  wives 
and  children  subjected  to  like  treatment.  In  one  in- 
stance, as  the  marauders  left,  they  shot  down  a  dozen 
cattle  belonging  to  an  old  man  and  left  their  carcasses 
lying  in  the  yard.  Think  of  that,  and  remember  the 
grievances  of  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch  farmers,  who 
came,  in  all  seriousness,  to  complain  to  Gen.  Long- 
street,  in  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  of  the  outrage  which 
some  of  his  ferocious  rebels  had  committed  upon  them 
by  milking  their  cows  !  On  one  occasion,  at  Fayetteville, 
four  gentlemen  were  hung  by  the  neck  until  nearly  dead 
to  force  them  to  disclose  where  their  valuables  were 
hidden,  and  one  of  them  was  shot  to  death. 
"Again — 

'HEADQUARTERS    DOBBINS    HOUSE,'  ) 

February  17,  1781.       f 

'  Lord  Cornwallis  is  very  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  officers  of  the  army  to  the  repeated 
orders  against  plundering,  and  he  assures  the  officers 
that  if  their  duty  to  their  King  and  country,  and  their 
feeling  for  humanity,  are  not  sufficient  to  force  obedience 
to  them,  he  must,  however,  reluctantly  make  use  of  such 
powers  as  the  military  laws  have  placed  in  his  hands. 
*  #  *  *  it  is  expected  that  Captains  will  exert 
themselves  to  keep  good  order  and  prevent  plundering. 
*  *  Any  officer  who  looks  on  with  indifference 


190  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

and  docs  not  do  his  utmost  to  prevent  shameful  marauding 
will  be  considered  in  a  more  criminal  light  than  the  per- 
sons who  commit  these  scandalous  crimes,  which  must 
bring  disgrace  and  ruin  on  nis  Majesty's  service.  All 
foraging  parties  will  give  receipts  for  the  supplies  taken 
by  them.' 

"Now,  taking  it  for  granted  that  Lord  Cornwallis,  a 
distinguished  soldier  and  a  gentleman,  is  an  authority  on 
the  rights  of  war,  could  there  be  found  anywhere  a 
more  damnatory  comment  upon  the  practices  of  General 
Sherman  and  his  Army? 

"Again — 

'HEADQUARTERS,    FREELANDS,   ) 

February  28,  1781.       f 
'•Memorandum  :' 

'A  watch  found  by  the  regiment  of  Bose.  The 
owner  may  have  it  from  the  Adjutant  of  that  regiment 
upon  proving  property.' 

"Another — 

'SMITH'S  PLANTATION,'  ) 
March  i,  1781.       \ 

'•Brigade  Orders' 

*  'A  woman  having  been  robbed  of  a 
watch,  a  black  silk  handkerchief,  a  gallon  of  peach 
brandy  and  a  shirt,  and  as  by  description,  by  a  soldier 
of  the  guards,  the  camp,  and  every  man's  kit  is  to  be 
immediately  searched  for  the  same,  by  the  officer  of  the 
brigade.' 

"Are  there  any  poets  in  the  audience,  or  other  per- 
sons in  whom  the  imaginative  faculty  has  been  largely 
cultivated?  If  so,  let  me  beg  him  to  do  me  the  favor  of 
conceiving,  if  he  can,  and  make  manifest  to  me,  the 
idea  of  a  notice  of  a  lost  watch  being  given,  in  general 
orders,  by  Wm.  Tecumseh  Sherman,  and  the  offer  to 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  19! 

return  it  on  proof  of  property  by  the  rebel  owner! 
Let  him  imagine,  if  he  can,  the  searching  of  every  man's 
kit  in  that  army,  for  a  stolen  watch,  a  shirt,  a  black  silk 
handkerchief  and  a  gallon  of  peach  brandy — because 
'such  is  war.' 

"Time  and  your  patience  forbids  that  I  should  further 
•quote  from  this  interesting  record  of  the  war  of 
1781.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  whole  policy  and  con- 
duct of  that  British  commander  was  such  as  to  indicate 
unmistakably  that  he  did  not  consider  the  burning  of 
private  houses,  the  stealing  of  private  property,  and 
the  outraging  of  helpless,  private  citizens  as  War,  but 
as  robbery  and  arson.  I  venture  to  say  up  to  the 
period  when  that  great  march  taught  us  the  contrary,  no 
humane  general  or  civilized  people  in  Christendom 
believed  that  'such  was  war.'  Has  civilization  gone 
backward  since  Lord  Cornwallis'  day?  Have  arson  and 
vulgar  theft  been  ennobled  into  heroic  virtues  ?  If  so, 
when  and  by  whom?  Has  the  art  of  discovering  a  poor 
man's  hidden  treasure  by  fraud  or  torture  been  elevated 
into  the  strategy  which  wins  a  campaign  ?  If  so,  when 
and  by  whom? 

"No,  sir,  it  will  not  do  to  slur  over  these  things  by  a 
vague  reference  to  the  inevitable  cruelties  of  war.  The 
time  is  fast  coming  when  the  conduct  of  that  campaign 
will  be  looked  upon  in  the  light  of  real  humanity,  and 
investigated  with  the  real  historic  spirit  which  evolves 
truth;  and  all  the  partisan  songs  which  have  been  sung, 
or  orations  which  subservient  'orators  have  spoken, 
about  that  great  march  to  the  sea ;  and  all  the  carica- 


192  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

tures  of  Southern  leaders  which  the  bitterness  of  a 
diseased  sectional  sentiment  has  inspired;  and  all  the 
glamour  of  a  great  success,  shall  not  avail  to  restrain 
the  inexorable,  the  illuminating  pen  of  history.  Truth, 
like  charity,  never  faileth.  Whether  there  be  prophecies 
they  shall  fail;  whether  there  be  tongues  the}'  shall 
cease;  whether  there  be  knowledge  it  shall  vanish  away  ; 
but  when  the  truth,  which  is  perfect,  has  come,  then 
that  what  is  in  part  shall  be  done  away. 

"Now  let  us  contrast  Gen.  Sherman  with  his  greatest 
foe,  likewise  the  greatest,  certainly  the  most  humane, 
general  of  modern  times,  and  see  whether  he  regarded 
the  pitiless  destruction  of  the  substance  of  women  and 
children  and  inoffensive  inhabitants  as  legitimate  war/' 

'HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA,  ) 

June  27,  1863.       C 

^General  Order  No.  73. 

'The  Commanding  General  has  observed  with  marked 
satisfaction  the  conduct  of  the  troops  on  'the  march. 
There  have,  however,  been  instances  of  forgetfulness 
on  the  part  of  some  that  they  have  in  keeping  the  yet 
unsullied  reputation  of  this  army,  and  that  the  duties 
exacted  of  us  by  civilization  and  Christianity  are  not  less 
obligatory  in  the  country  of  the  enemy  than  our  own. 
The  Commanding  General  considers  that  no  greater 
disgrace  could  befall  the  army,  and  through  it  our  whole 
people,  than  the  perpetration  of  barbarous  outrages  upon 
the  unarmed  and  defenceless,  and  the  wanton  destruction 
of  private  property,  that  have  marked  the  course  of  the 
enemy  in  our  own  country.  *  *  *  *  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  we  make  war  only  upon  armed  men. 

'R.  E.  LEE,  General: 

"The  humanity  and  Christian  spirit  of  this  order  was 
Mich  as  to  challenge  the  admiration  of  foreign  nations. 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     193 

The  'London  Times'  commented  upon  it,  and  its  Amer- 
ican correspondent  said:  'The  greatest  surprise  has  been 
expressed  to  me  by  officers  from  the  Austrian,  Prussian 
and  English  armies,  each  of  which  have  representatives 
here,  that  volunteer  troops,  provoked  by  nearly  twenty- 
seven  months  of  unparalleled  ruthlessness  and  wanton- 
ness, of  which  their  country  has  been  the  scene,  should 
be  under  such  control,  and  willing  to  act  in  harmony 
with  the  long-suffering  and  forbearance  of  President 
Davis  and  Gen.  Lee.' 

"To  show  how  this  order  was  executed,  the  same 
writer  tells  a  story  of  how  he  witnessed,  with  his  own 
eyes,  Gen.  Lee  and  a  surgeon  of  his  command  repairing 
the  damage  to  a  farmer's  fence.  Col.  McClure,  of  Phil- 

O  » 

adelphia,  a  Union  soldier  himself,  bears  witness  to  the 
good  conduct  of  Lee's  ragged  rebels  in  that  famous 
campaign.  He  tells  of  hundreds  of  them  coming  to  him 
and  asking  for  a  little  bread  and  coffee,  and  of  others 
who  were  wet  and  shivering  'asking  permission'  to  enter 
a  house  in  which  they  saw  a  bright  fire,  to  warm  them- 
selves until  their  coffee  should  be  ready.  . 

"Hundreds  of  similar  instances  could  be  given,  sub- 
stantiated by  the  testimony  of  men  on  both  sides,  to  show 
the  splendid  humanity  of  that  great  invasion.  Blessed 
be  the  good  God,  who,  if  in  His  wisdom,  He  denied  us 
success,  yet  gave  to  us  and  our  children  the  rich  inher- 
itage  of  this  great  example. 

"Now,  there  is  Lee's  order  on  entering  Pennsylvania, 
and  there  are  the  proofs  referred  to  of  the  good  faith  with 
which  that  order  was  executed.  Was  any  such  humane 


194  T'IFE    OF    GEN-    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

order  issued  by  Gen.  Sherman  when  he  began  his  march 
through  Georgia,  South  and  North  Carolina?  If  so,  let 
the  numberless  and  atrocious  outrages  which  character- 
ized his  every  step,  speak  as  to  the  mala  fides  with  which 
it  was  executed.  Let  a  few  other  things  also  speak. 
Major-Gen.  Halleck,  then,  I  believe,  commander-in- 
chief,  under  the  President,  of  the  armies  of  the  Union/ 
on  the  iSth  of  December,  1864,  dispatched  as  follows  to 
Gen.  Sherman,  then  in  Savannah.  'Should  you  capture 
Charleston,  I  hope  that  by  some  accident  the  place  may 
be  destroyed ;  and  if  a  little  salt  should  be  sown  upon  its 
site  it  may  prevent  the  growth  of  future  crops  of  nullifi- 
cation and  secession.'  On  the  24th  of  December,  1864, 
Gen.  Sherman  made  the  following  answer:  '  I  will  bear 
in  mind  your  hint  as  to  Charleston,  and  don't  think 
"salt"  will  be  necessary.  When  I  move,  the  Fifteenth 
Corps  will  be  on  the  right  of  the  right  wing,  and  their 
position  will  bring  them  naturally  into  Charleston  first, 
and  if  you  have  watched  the  history  of  that  corps  you 
will  have  remarked  that  they  generally  do  their  work 
up  pretty  well.  The  truth  is,  the  whole  army  is  burning 
with  an  insatiable  desire  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  South 
Carolina.  I  almost  tremble  at  her  fate,  but  feel  that  she 
deserves  all  that  seems  in  store  for  her.  *  *  *  I  look 
upon  Columbia  as  quite  as  bad  as  Charleston!'  There- 
fore, Columbia  was  burned  to  ashes.  And  though  he 
knew  what  was  in  store  for  South  Carolina,  so  horrible 
that  even  he  trembled,  he  took  no  steps  to  avert  it,  for 
he  felt  that  she  deserved  it  all.  Did  she,  indeed?  What 
crime  had  she  committed  that  placed  her  outside  the 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

protection  of  the  law  of  civilized  nations?  What  unjust 
and  barbarous  or  brutal  conduct  had  she  been  guilty  of 
to  bring  her  within  the  exceptions  laid  down  by  the 
writers  on  the  laws  of  war  as  authorizing  extraordinary 
severity  of  punishment?  They  are  not  even  imputed  to 
her.  South  Carolina's  crime  and  the  crime  of  all  the 
seceding  States  was  that  of  a  construction  of  the  consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  differing  from  that  of  Gen. 
Sherman  and  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  which  'always  did  its 
work  pretty  well.' 

"Happily,  the  Divine  Goodness  has  made  the  powers 
of  recuperation  even  superior  to  those  of  destruction; 
and  though  their  overthrow  was  so  complete  that  'salt' 
was  not  needed  as  the  type  of  utter  desolation,  yet 
Marietta  and  Atlanta  are  thriving  and  prosperous  cities ; 
and  Columbia  has  once  more  resumed  her  poetic  name — 
the  city  of  roses ;  and  but  recently  I  read,  with  satisfac- 
tion, that  the  good  old  town  of  Fayetteville  is  fast 
rebuilding  her  factories,  and  boasts  of  having  but  lately 
recovered  much  of  her  ancient  trade. 

"I  mean  further  to  contrast  this  march  to  the  sea  with 
the  opinions  of  the  great  American  writer  on  interna- 
tional law,  Chancellor  Kent.  Treating  of  plunder  on 
land  and  depredations  on  private  property,  he  says: 
(part  i,  sec.  5.)  'Such  conduct  has  been  condemned  in 
all  ages,  by  the  wise  and  the  virtuous,  and  it  is  usually 
punished  severely  by  those  commanders  of  disciplined 
troops  who  have  studied  war  as  a  science,  and  are 
animated  by  a  sense  of  duty  or  love  of  fame.  "" 
If  the  conqueror  goes  beyond  these  limits  wantonly,  or 


196  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

when  it  is  not  clearly  indispensable  to  the  just  purposes 
of  war,  and  seizes  private  property  of  pacific  persons 
for  the  sake  of  gain,  and  destroys  private  dwellings  or 
public  edifices  devoted  to  civil  purposes  only,  or  makes 
war  upon  monuments  of  art  and  models  of  taste,  he 
violates  the  modern  usages  of  war,  and  is  sure  to  meet 
with  indignant  resentment,  and  to  be  held  up  to  the 
general  scorn  and  detestation  of  the  world.'  If  Kent, 
although  studied  by  Gen.  Sherman  at  West  Point,  be 
not  a  sufficient  authority  for  his  condemnation,  let  us  try 
him  by  the  opinion  of  Major-Gen.  Halleck — the  'salt' 
suggester  above  referred  to,  and  see  what  he  says  in  his 
cooler  moments  concerning  the  rights  of  unarmed  in- 
habitants during  war. 

"In  his  International  Law  and  Laws  of  War,  pub- 
lished in  1861,  treating  of  the  ancient  practice  which 
made  all  private  property  of  the  enemy  subject  to  con- 
fiscation, he  says:  'But  the  modern  usage  is  not  to  touch 
private  property  on  land  without  making  compensation, 
except  in  certain  specified  cases.  These  exceptions  may 
be  stated  under  three  general  heads :  First,  confiscations 
or  seizures  by  way  of  penalty  for  military  offenses; 
second,  forced  contributions  for  the  support  of  the  in- 
vading army,  or  as  an  indemnity  for  the  expenses  of 
maintaining  order  and  affording  protection  to  the  con- 
quered inhabitants;  and,  third,  property  taken  on  the 
field  of  battle,  or  in  storming  a  fortress  or  town.' 

"Again,  the  same  author  says  (Chap.  19,  page  451): 
'The  evils  resulting  from  irregular  requisitions  and  for- 
aging for  the  ordinary  supplies  of  an  army  are  so  very 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     197 

great,  and  so  generally  admitted,  that  it  has  become  a 
recognized  maxim  of  war,  that  the  commanding  officer 
who  permits  indiscriminate  pillage,  and  allows  the  taking 
of  private  property  without  a  strict  accountability  *  *  * 
fails  in  his  duty  to  his  own  government,  and  violates  the 
usages  of  modern  warfare.  It  is  sometimes  alleged,  in 
excuse  for  such  conduct,  that  the  General  is  unable  to 
restrain  his  troops ;  but,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  there  is 
no  excuse,  for  he  who  cannot  preserve  order  in  his  army 
has  no  right  to  command  it.' 

"Once  more,  let  us  bring  this  General  to  the  test  of 
the  code,  prepared  for  the  government  of  the  armies  of 
the  United  States,  by  Frances  Lieber: 

"Section  20  reads  as  follows:  'Private  property, 
unless  forfeited  by  crimes  or  by  offenses  of  the  owner 
against  the  safety  of  the  army  or  the  dignity  of  the 
United  States,  and  after  due  conviction  of  the  owner  by 
court  martial,  can  be  seized  only  by  way  of  military 
necessity  for  the  support  or  other  benefit  of  the  army  or 
of  the  United  States.' 

"Section  24  reads  :  'All  wanton  violence  com- 
mitted against  persons  in  the  invaded  country; 
all  destruction  of  property  not  commanded  by  the 
authorized  officer;  all  robbery;  all  pillage  or  sack- 
ing, even  after  taking  a  place  by  main  force;  all  rape, 
wounding,  maiming  or  killing  of  such  inhabitants,  are 
prohibited  under  the  penalty  of  death,  or  such  other 
severe  punishment  as  may  seem  adequate  for  the  gravity 
of  the  offence.' 

"Section  27  reads  as  follows:     'Crimes  punishable  by 


198  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

all  penal  codes,  such  as  arson,  murder,  maiming, 
assaults,  highway  robbery,  theft,  burglary,  fraud,  for- 
gery, and  rape,  if  committed  by  an  American  soldier  in 
a  hostile  country  against  its  inhabitants,  are  not  only 
punishable  as  at  home,  but  in  all  cases  in  which  death 
is  not  inflicted,  the*  severer  punishment  shall  be  preferred, 
because  the  criminal  has,  as  far  as  in  him  lay,  prostituted 
the  power  conferred  on  a  man  of  arms,  and  prostrated 
the  dignity  of  the  Uuited  States.' 

"One  more  short  quotation  from  this  cede  prepared  by 
Dr.  Lieber  I  will  give,  not  so  much  for  its  authority  as 
because  it  is  so  eminently  ludicrous  in  the  light  of  the 
way  in  which  it  was  observed  by  Sherman's  bummers. 
Listen — 

"Section  40:  'It  is  the  usage  in  European  armies 
that  money  and  all  valuables  on  the  person  of  a  prisoner, 
such  as  watches  or  jewelry,  as  well  as  extra  clothing, 
belong  to  the  captor;  but  it  distinguishes  the  army  of 
the  United  States  that  the  appropriation  of  such  articles 
or  money  is  considered  dishonorable,  and  not  suffered 
by  the  officers. '  Ah ! 

"To  the  same  effect  are  all  the  great  writers  on  public 
law  for  more  than  two  centuries  back.  Wolsey,  Vattel 
Grotius,  PufTendorf,  Poison,  Jomini,  and  the  rest  of  them, 
almost  without  exception.  In  fact  every  one  of  any 
note  condemns  in  unmistakable  terms  the  destruction  and 
indiscriminate  pillaging  of  private  property  of  unarmed 
people  in  time  of  war.  Even  the  followers  of  Mahomet, 
cruel  and  blood-thirsty  as  they  were,  recognized  to  its 
full  extent  the  justice  and  propriety  of  these  principles. 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     199 

The  Caliph,  Abubekr,  in  634,  when  sending  forth  his 
generals  to  the  conquest  of  Syria,  gave  them  instructions 
which  Gen.  Sherman  cannot  read  without  a  sense  of 
shame.  Abubekr,  an  old  man,  accompanied  the  army 
on  foot  on  its  first  day's  march,  and  when  the  blushing 
leaders  attempted  to  dismount,  says  the  historian,  the 
Caliph  removed  their  scruples  by  a  declaration  that 
those  who  rode  and  those  who  walked  in  the  service  of 
religion  were  equally  meritorious.  'Remember,'  said 
the  successor  of  the  Prophet  to  the  chiefs  of  the  Syrian 
army,  that  you  are  always  in  the  presence  of  God,  on 
the  verge  of  death,  in  the  assurance  of  judgment,  and 
the  hope  of  paradise.  Avoid  injustice  and  oppression, 
consult  with  your  brethren  and  study  to  preserve  the  love 
and  confidence  of  your  troops.  When  you  fight  the 
battles  of  the  Lord  acquit  yourselves  like  men,  without 
turning  your  backs,  but  let  not  your  victory  be  stained 
with  the  blood  of  women  or  children.  Destroy  no  palm 
trees,  nor  burn  any  fields  of  corn.  Cut  down  no  fruit 
trees,  nor  do  any  mischief  to  cattle,  only  such  as  you 
kill  to  eat.  When  you  make  any  covenant  or  article, 
stand  to  it,  and  be  as  good  as  your  word.  As  you  go 
on,  you  will  find  some  religious  persons  who  live  retired 
in  monasteries  and  propose  to  themselves  to  serve  God 
in  that  way,  let  them  alone,  and  neither  kill  them  nor 
destroy  their  monasteries.'  This  is  neither  a  bad  expo- 
sition of  the  laws  of  war  or  of  the  principles  of 
Christianity. 

"As  far  back  in  the  history  of  our  race  as  four  hun- 
dred years  B.  C.,  the  great  Xenophon,  in  the  Cyropedia, 


200  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

puts  in  the  mouth  of  his  hero  Cyrus,  the  Prince  of 
Persia,  an  order  directing  that  his  army,  when  march- 
ing upon  the  enemy's  borders,  should  not-  disturb  the 
cultivators  of  the  soil.  Now  let  us  draw  the  contrast  in 

the  conduct  of  Gen.  Sherman  and   the  Arab  chieftain, 

i 

who  denied  Christianity,  and  the  old  Greek  pagan  who 
had  never  heard  of  Christ.  Let  us  take  no  Southern 
man's  testimony;  there  are  plenty  of  honest  and  truthful 
soldiers  of  the  Union,  who  were  with  the  Federal  army 
and  served  iA  its  ranks,  to  tell  all  we  want  and  more. 
This  is  what  one  of  them  says,  writing  of  that  cam- 
paign to  the  "Detroit  Free  Press:"  "One  of  the  most 
devilish  acts  of  Sherman's  campaign  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  Marietta.  *  The  Military  Institute,  and 
such  mills  and  factories  as  might  be  a  benefit  to  Hood, 
could  expect  the  torch,  but  Sherman  was  not  content 
with  that;  the  torch  was  applied  to  everything,  even  to 
the  shanties  occupied  by  the  colored  people.  No 
advance  warning  was  given.  The  first  alarm  was 
followed  by  the  crackling  of  flames.  Soldiers  rode 
from  house  to  house,  entered  without  ceremony,  and 
kindled  fires  in  garrets  and  closets,  and  stood  by  to  see 
that  they  were  not  extinguished." 

"Again,  he  says:  'Had  one  been  aole  to  climb  to  such 
a  height,  at  Atlanta,  as  to  enable  him  to  see  for  forty 
miles  around,  the  day  Sherman  marched  out,  he  would 
have  been  appalled  at  the  destruction.  Hundreds  of 
houses  had  been  burned ;  every  rod  of  fence  destroyed ; 
nearly  every  fruit  tree  cut  down ;  and  the  face  of  the 
country  so  changed  that  one  born  in  that  section  could 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     2OI 

scarcely  recognize  it.  The  vindictiveness  of  war  would 
have  trampled  the  very  earth  out  of  sight,  had  such  a 
thing  been  possible.' 

"Again,  he  says:   'At  the   very   opening  of  the  cam- 
paign, at  Dalton,    the    Federal    soldiery    had    received 
encouragement    to  become    vandals.     Not    one    private 
soldier  out  of  every  forty  turned  robber  or  incendiary, 
but  there  were  enough  to  cast  a  stigm^.  on  the  whole. 
From  Dalton  to  Atlanta  every  house  was  entered  a  dozen 
times  over,  and  each  new  band  of  foragers  robbed  it  of 
something.     When  there  was  nothing  in  the  shape  of 
money,  provisions,  jewelry  or  clothing   left,  the  looters 
destroyed  furniture,   abused  women   and   children,  and 
ended  by   setting   fire  to   the  house.     As  these  parties 
rode  back  to  camp,  attired  in   dresses  and  bonnets,  and 
exhibiting   the  trophies  of  their  raid,  and  nothing  was 
said  to  them,    others   were   encouraged  to   follow   suit. 
The  treatment  of  colored  women  was  brutal  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  not  a  few  of  them  died  from  the  effects.    One 
who  has  the  nerve  to  sit  down  and  listen  to  what  they 
can  tell  will  find  his  respect  for  the  ignorant  and  savage 
Indians  increased.     But  these  were  preparatory  lessons. 
When  Sherman  cut  loose   from  Atlanta,  everybody  had 
license  to  throw  off  restraint  and  make  Georgia  "drain 
the  bitter  cup."    The  Federal  who  wants  to  learn  what  it 
was  to  license  an  army  to  become  vandals  should  mount 
a  horse  at  Atlanta  and  follow  Sherman's  route  for  fifty 
miles.     He  can  hear  stories  from  the  lips  of  women  that 
would  make  him   ashamed  of  the  flag  that  waved  over 
him  as  he  went  into  battle.  When  the  army  had  passed, 


2O2  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

nothing  was  left  but  a  trail  of  desolation  and  despair. 
No  house  escaped  robbery;  no  woman  escaped  insult; 
no  building  escaped  the  fire-brand,  except  by  some 
strange  interposition.  War  may  license  an  army  to 
subsist  on  the  enemy,  but  civilized  warfare  stops  at 
live-stock,  forage  and  provisions.  It  does  not  enter  the 
houses  of  the  sick  and  helpless,  and  rob  women  of 
finger-rings  and  carry  off  their  clothing. 

'Add  to  all  these  horrors  that  most  merciless  and 
inhuman  order  of  expatriation,  by  which  the  entire 
population  of  Atlanta,  of  all  ages,  sex  and  conditions, 
were  driven  forth  to  the  fields  of  a  desolated  country,  or 
shipped  off  to  the  rear  like  cattle ;  an  order  which  was 
followed  by  the  "deliberate  burning  of  Atlanta"  by 
Sherman's  own  account.  But  I  have  said  enough  about 
these  horrors,  for  it  is  exceedingly  unpleasant  to  speak 
of  them.  Yet  they  must  be  told,  if  for  nothing  else  than 
to  excite  the  execration  of  humane  people,  and  they  will 
be  told  more  hereafter  than  ever  before.  It  is  not  worth 
while  to  cry  hush.  The  truth  is  entitled  to  be  known.' ' 

I  have  made  this  record  of  the  Federal  military  opera- 
tions in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  to  show  what  con- 
sequences flowed  from  Johnston's  removal  from  the 
Army  of  Tennessee  before  Atlanta. 

It  was  said  that  he  would  not  stop  retreating,  and  that 
he  would  finally  take  refuge  in  the  everglades,  as 
Osceola  had  done  before  him.  But  even  if  this  had 
been  true,  it  was  better  to  have  kept  the  Army  of  Ten- 
nessee in  hand,  as  he  had  done  from  Dalton  to  Atlanta, 
to  confront  Sherman  and  to  control  his  movements,  than 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     2O3 

to  send  it  off,  leaving  him  absolutely  unchecked  and 
unmoderated. 

In  justice  to  the  administration  at  Richmond,  it  must 
be  said  that  it  held  on  to  Johnston  for  a  long  time  against 
a  tremendous  popular  pressure,  and  in  spite  of  a  great 
popular  clamor.  Mr.  Seddon,  the  Confederate  Secre- 
tary of  War,  was  a  warm  admirer  of  Johnston,  and  was 
his  personal  friend,  with  great  confidence  in  his  ability. 

Lee  remonstrated  against  his  removal,  and  the  first 
order  he  issued  in  February,  1865,  after  he  had  been 
placed  in  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Confederate 
States,  was  to  assign  Johnston  to  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  Tennessee,  and  all  the  troops  in  Georgia, 
South  Carolina  and  North  Carolina. 

From  the  day  Sherman  started  from  Savannah,  his 
movements  were  so  well  masked  that  the  Confederate 
authorities  could  not  decide  where  he  intended  to  strike. 

At  first  Charleston  was  supposed  to  be  his  objective, 
but  \vhen  he  moved  into  Columbia  it  was  understood 
that  he  was  going  by  Charlotte,  Salisbury,  Greensboro, 
Danville,  to  unite  with  Grant. 

The  movements  at  Newbern — repairing  the  railroad 
and  arranging  docks  and  wharves — if  known,  did  not 
attract  attention.  But  the  whole  month  of  January, 
1865,  was  employed  putting  Newbem  into  condition  to 
be  a  great  depot,  and  Schofield  wTas  promptly  transpor- 
ted there,  to  be  ready  for  Sherman  when  he  approached 
Goldsboro. 

General  Johnston  was  residing  in  Lincolnton,  North 
Carolina,  attending  his  wife,  whose  health  was  very  in- 


204  LIFE    OK    GKN.    JOSKl'II    I..   JOHNSTON. 

firm,  where,  on  January  23, 1865,  he  received  instru  :tions 
by  telegraph  to  report  to  General  Lee  at  Petersburg, 
recently  appointed  General-in-chief.  A  telegram  from 
Gen.  Lee,  in  anticipation  of  such  a  report  to  him,  was 
received  the  same  day.  In  it  he  directed  him  to  assume 
command  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  and  of  all  troops 
in  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Florida,  and  to  "concen- 
trate all  available  forces,  and  drive  back  Sherman." 
Beauregard  had  before  then  been  in  command  of  South 
Carolina  and  part  of  Florida  and  Georgia,  and  before 
accepting  the  command  tendered,  Johnston  visited 
him  in  Charlotte,  to  ascertain  if  the  arrangement  was 
agreeable  to  him. 

Being  assured  by  Beauregard  that  the  feeble  and 
precarious  condition  of  his  health  made  the  order 
exceedingly  satisfactory  and  desirable  to  him,  Beaure- 
gard gave  him  a  copy  of  a  dispatch,  which  he  had  the 
day  before  addressed  to  General  Lee,  in  which  the  same 
feeling  was  expressed. 

Relieved  from  all  embarassment  at  superceding  this 
illustrious  soldier — his  friend  and  comrade  in  two 
wars — Johnston  assumed  the  responsibility  of  the 
command,  with  a  full  sense  that  nothing  was  to  be 
done,  except  to  save  the  further  effusion  of  blood, 
and  secure  the  best  terms  for  the  States  and  the 
people  of  the  South,  that  could  be  extorted  from 
their  adversaries.  The  trans -Mississippi  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  Federals.  The  fall  of  Atlanta  had 
secured  them  all  the  States  west  of  the  Savannah  and 
south  of  the  Ohio.  Sherman's  march  had  crushed 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

South  Carolina  like  an  eggshell.  Charleston,  Wil- 
mington and  Mobile  had  fallen,  and  the  Confederacy 
was  surrounded  from  Cape  Charles,  on  the  Chesapeake, 
to  the  Rio  Grande  with  a  cordon  of  fire  and  shot  and 

shell. 
j. 
Under  these  circumstances,   Johnston  undertook  the 

command.  His  orders  were  to  concentrate  the  troops 
in  his  department  and  drive  back  Sherman. 

The  Army  of  Tennessee — the  "disjecta  membra"  of 
that  gallant  army  he  had  led  in  glorious  retreat  from 
Dalton  to  Atlanta — after  having  been  dashed  to  pieces 
on  the  rocks  of  Franklin  and  Nashville,  was  percolating, 
sifting  through  the  country  by  skeleton  brigades,  regi- 
ments, batteries,  to  report  to  Beauregard  in  North 
Carolina.  From  Mississippi,  where  the  fragments  of 
Nashville  had  lodged,  it  was  carried  by  rail  to  Augusta, 
Georgia;  thence  they  marched  northeast  to  Charlotte. 

Stevenson,  Stewart  and  Lee,  Cheatham,  Wheeler  and 
Battle,  the  knights  of  the  crusade  behind  Sherman, 
were  all  moving  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  men's  legs 
would  carry  them  into  North  Carolina,  to  rally  to  Beau- 
regard — the  hero  of  Manassas  and  the  defender  of 
Charleston — to  head  off  Sherman. 

Under  orders,  Johnston  took  up  the  flag  and  moved 
to  the  front.  He  had  about  five  thousand  men  of  the 
Army  of  Tennessee,  and  about  eleven  thousand  who 
had  been  holding  Charleston,  under  Hardee,  and  Wil- 
mington under  Whiting.  Sherman  had  seventy  thousr 
and  infantry  and  five  thousand  cavalry. 

The  fragments  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  in  small 


2O6  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

bodies  were  hastening  through  South  Carolina,  with  no 
rations,  no  transportation,  no  assistance  from  their 
government,  to  help  Johnston  and  Beauregard  to  drive 
back  the  invader. 

It  was  a  hopeless  task,  a  duty  absolutely  without  any 
chance  of  success  to  reward  it,  but  these  soldiers  from 
Missouri,  from  Arkansas,  from  Texas,  from  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  from  the  other  Southwestern  States, 
marched,  many  of  them,  from  luka,  Mississippi,  without 
arms,  rations  or  pay,  to  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  to 
defend  their  country,  and  to  do  their  duty.  All  hope  of 
saving  their  cause  was  utterly  lost.  The  reinstatement 
of  Johnston  had  roused  enthusiasm  all  through  the 
Southwest,  and  the  soldiers  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  "Old  Joe,"  to  stand  by  him 
to  the  last. 

They  were  largely  without  arms,  and  absolutely  with- 
out wagons  or  transportation.  Johnston  was  ordered  to 
draw  his  supplies  from  the  country,  although  he  found 
in  the  principal  railroad  depots  between  Charlotte,  Dan- 
ville and  Weldon,  rations  for  four  months  for  sixty 
thousand  men,  which  were  reserved  for  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia. 

Upon  reporting  to  General  Lee  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  North  Carolina,  General  Johnston  suggested  that 
all  the  troops  in  that  State  should  be  put  under  his 
command. 

This  suggestion  was  adopted,  and  8,000  men,  under 
Bragg,  near  Goldsboro,  were  added  to  the  force  under 
his  control.  It  is  singular  that  Johnston  had  no  certain 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.    207 

information   of  what  troops   were  at  Newbern,  or  what 
disposition  there  was  of  Federal  troops  in  North  Carolina. 

He  says,  that  "the  course  of  the  Federal  march  from 
Winnsborough  indicated  that  it  would  cross  the  Cape 
Fear  at  Fayetteville  and  there  be  joined  by  Schofield 
at  Wilmington."  But  Schofield  was  then  at  Newbern. 

Leaving  Beauregard  to  protect  the  line  of  railroad 
from  Charlotte  to  Danville,  Gen.  Johnston  selected 
Smithfield  as  the  point  of  rendezvous  for  all  his  troops, 
and,  on  March  4,  established  his  headquarters  at  Fay- 
etteville. Sherman's  plan  would  not  be  developed  until 
he  approached  the  centre  of  the  State,  whether  he  pro- 
posed to  march  from  Goldsboro  directly  on  Petersburg, 
by  way  of  Weldon,  or  whether  by  way  of  Greensboro 
and  Danville,  to  unite  with  Grant  in  Virginia.  Inasmuch, 
as  the  Wilmington  &  Weldon  road  was  of  little  further 
use,  for  Wilmington  and  Charleston  were  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Federals,  and  could  no  longer  supply  Lee, 
it  was  most  reasonable  to  conjecture  that  Sherman  would 
take  the  Western  line,  break  Lee's  communication  at 
Greensboro  with  the  South,  and  then  move  on  Burke- 
ville,  where  the  railroad  from  Petersburg  to  Lynchburg 
crosses  the  railroad  from  Richmond  to  Danville,  and 
thus  cut  Lee  off  from  all  railroad  communication  with 
Western  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Southwestern  Vir- 
ginia and  East  Tennessee.  He  would  thus  be  effectually 
cooped  up. 

Goldsboro  is  about  sixty  miles  northeast  from  Fayette- 
ville and  fifty  miles  southeast  from  Raleigh.  Newbern 
is  fifty  miles  east  from  Goldsboro.  Smithfield  is  half 


2O8  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

way  between  Goldsboro  and  Raleigh.  It  was,  therefore, 
the  point  from  which  Johnston  could  guard  both,  the 
road  to  Weldon  and  that  to  Raleigh. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  Gen.  Bragg,  at  Goldsboro,  re- 
ported that  a  large  Federal  force  was  advancing  from 
Newbern,  and  was  then  but  nine  miles  from  Kinston. 
He  asked  that  the  troops  just  arrived  at  Smithfield  from 
Charlotte  be  sent  him,  so  he  could  attack.  Major-Gen. 
D.  H.  Hill,  who  commanded  the  troops  at  Smithfield, 
was  ordered  to  Bragg,  and,  on  March  7,  joined  him  at 
Kinston  with  about  2,000  men. 

Bragg  at  once  attacked  the  enemy — three  divisions 
under  Major-Gen.  Cox.  He  drove  them  three  miles, 
capturing  1,500  prisoners  and  3  field  pieces,  with  little 
loss. 

On  the  loth  of  March,  Bragg  attempted  to  turn  the 
Federal  entrenchments,  but  was  obliged  to  withdraw  ; 
and  though  his  actual  loss  in  men  was  slight,  his  sub- 
stantial loss  in  morale,  which  had  been  gained  by  their 
previous  success,  was  great. 

Lieut. -Gen.  Hampton,  with  Butler  and  Wheeler's 
divisions  of  cavalry,  was  in  front  and  on  the  left  of 
Sherman,  who  was  moving  in  two  columns  about  a 
day's  march  apart. 

Hardee  was  hard  pushed  to  get  through  Cheraw, 
before  Sherman  reached  there,  and  moved  on  to  Fayette- 
ville,  where  he  halted  on  the  pth  and  loth  of  March. 

High  water  in  the  Pedee  forced  Hampton  far  to  the 
west,  and,  when  he  crossed  the  river,  Sherman  had 
passed  it  two  days  before  and  was  then  between  him 
and  Fayetteville. 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  209 

He  found  Kilpatrick  directly  in  his  road,  surprised 
him  in  his  camp  at  daybreak  on  the  loth,  drove  him 
into  the  swamp,  where  his  people  rallied,  and  made  a 
spirited  attack  on  the  Confederates,  and  eventually  drove 
them  off.  Hampton  and  Wheeler  thought  the  Federal 
loss  much  greater  than  theirs,  although  they  suffered  a 
great  deal. 

But  the  Confederate  attack  opened  the  road  to  Fay- 
etteville,  where  Hampton  and  Wheeler  at  once  rejoined 
Hardee. 

Sherman's  advance  was  then  only  seven  miles  from 
Fayetteville.  Hardee  crossed  the  Cape  Fear  and  burnt 
the  bridges,  leaving  Hampton  to  hold  Sherman  to  some 
terms  of  moderation. 

On  nth  of  March  the  cavalry  advance  of  the  Fed- 
erals charged  the  town  with  a  squadron.  Hampton 
was  sitting  on  the  piazza  of  the  Tavern,  with  only  his 
couriers  about  him ;  as  the  commanding  officer  always 
will  be  sitting  in  a  shady  and  cool  place,  when  his 
adversary  charges  his  pickets,  and  rides  helter-skelter 
with  them,  through  the  reserve  into  the  camp. 

One  leap  from  the  piazza  to  the  saddle  put  Hampton 
armed  for  the  onset,  another  half  minute  he  and  the 
couriers  were  riding  down  the  Federal  advance.  Six 
men  fell  under  Hampton's  sabre  in  that  ride. 

But  the  Confederate  situation  then  was  desperate. 
There  was  no  hope.  Everybody  understood  it — from 
the  teamster  with  his  team,  to  Gen.  Johnston  at  head- 
quarters. 

The  only  thing  left  to  be  done  by  orave  men  was  to 


2 TO  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

fight  for  terms.  Everybody  wanted  peace,  and  knew 
that  peace  was  about  to  come,  but  the  Confederates 
fought  for  peace  with  honor,  with  law,  not  the  peace  of 
desolated  Poland. 

No  one  understood  this  more  perfectly  than  Gen. 
Johnston.  He  had  Bragg's  army,  of  North  Carolina,  of 
8,000,  Hardee's  of  Charleston,  of  less  than  10,000  men, 
Lieut. -Gen.  Hampton,  with  the  divisions  of  Major-Gens. 
M.  C.  Butler  and  Joseph  Wheeler,  held  the  cavalry  of 
probably  3,000  men  in  the  advance,  and  left  flank  of 
Sherman's  columns. 

Sherman  marched  70,000  seasoned  infantry  and  5,000 
fair  cavalry  in  two  columns,  the  heads  of  which  were 
nearly  a  day's  march  apart. 

Therefore,  if  Johnston  could  club  all  his  force  and 
strike  the  head  of  one  Federal  column,  he  might  do  it 
such  harm  before  the  other  got  to  it,  as  to  produce 
pacific  sentiments  in  the  minds  of  the  Federal  au- 
thorities. A  stout  club,  properly  and  seasonably  used, 
has  a  most  pacifying  effect. 

Sherman  had  not  yet  developed  whether  he  was  to 
march  direct  on  Raleigh  or  on  Goldsboro.  Wheeler  was 
placed  across  the  Raleigh  road,  and  Butler  on  that  to 
Goldsboro.  On  March  i4th,  Wheeler,  entrenched  at 
Silver  Creek,  easily  drove  back  the  cavalry  advance  of 
Sherman.  But  on  March  15,  the  Fourteenth  and 
Twentieth  Corps  pushed  Wheeler  out  of  the  way, 
and  pressed  on  toward  Raleigh. 

Hardee  had  entrenched  'a  position  four  miles  south  of 
Averysboro,  but  the  enemy  forced  him  out  by  turning 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.    211 

his  left.  He  fell  back  only  four  hundred  yards,  to  a 
better  position.  This  he  held  against  repeated  attacks 
during  the  day  of  March  i6th,  and  at  night,  hours 
after  the  fighting  had  ceased,  fell  back  to  Elevation,  a 
position  near  Smithfield,  being  informed  by  Hampton 
that  Sherman  was  crossing  above  and  below  him. 

General  Hardee  reported  that  his  loss  was  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing,  about  500,  and  prisoners  taken 
reported  the  Federal  loss  at  over  3,000.  The  report  of 
prisoners  in  battle  is  utterly  unreliable,  and  no  heed 
should  be  given  to  them.  They  are  not  first-class  men. 
They  have  no  opportunity  for  knowledge,  and  they  are 
"rattled,"  therefore,  they  are  unreliable  witnesses.  But 
General  Sherman  reports  his  loss  at  77  killed  and  407 
wounded. 

Says  Johnston,  an  acute  judge  of  men  and  of  soldiers: 
"If  that  report  is  true,  it  proves  that  Sherman's  army 
had  been  utterly  demoralized  by  its  course  of  life  on 
Southern  plantations.  Those  soldiers,  when  fighting 
between  Dalton  and  Atlanta,  could  not  have  been 
driven  back  repeatedly,  by  a  fourth  of  their  number,  with 
a  loss  so  utterly  insignificant.  It  is  unaccountable,  too, 
that  the  party  fighting  under  cover,  and  holding  its 
ground,  should  have  180  men  killed;  that,  unsheltered 
and  repulsed,  but  77." 

Both  statements  may  be  correct.  Generals  often 
exaggerate  the  losses  of  their  adversaries,  but  the 
official  reports  must  approximate  the  truth.  Johnston's 
people  were  fighting  not  for  victory,  nor  for  independ- 
ence; they  were  fighting  for  a  "settlement,"  as  is  the 
Southern  vernacular. 


212  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

They  were  desperate  men,  and  death  had  no  terrors 
for  them.  On  the  other  hand,  Sherman's  people  had 
all  the  future  before  them — victory,  glory,  home,  the 
applause  of  shouting  multitudes,  were  all  inducements 
not  to  get  killed.  The  Confederate  had  a  ruined  life,  a 
wasted  home — perhaps  a  murdered  wife  and  massacred 
babies — behind  him. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  he  may  have  willingly  given 
up  a  life  without  hope  or  prospect,  and  that  the  other 
side  may  have  been  more  frugal.  But  it  is  true,  as 
Johnston  remarks,  that  plunder,  license,  lack  of  disci- 
pline, will  take  the  soul  out  of  soldiers  in  a  two  days' 
march. 

Curious  it  is,  but  a  soldier  must  have  some  conscience, 
and  soldiers  without  conscience  are  beasts — they  will  do 
what  they  are  made  to  do,  and  nothing  else. 

Napoleon  said:  "Bayonets  think."  It  would  have 
been  better  to  say:  "Bayonets  believe."  For  if  bayo- 
nets do  not  believe,  if  they  do  not  have  faith  in  the 
justice  of  their  side,  they  are  worth  little.  Murder, 
rape,  arson  and  robbery  will  demoralize  an  army,  and 
take  all  the  fight  out  of  it,  sooner  than  a  dozen  defeats. 

The  extraordinary  'morale  of  the  Confederates  was 
due  to  their  sublime  faith  in  their  cause,  their  com- 
mander, and  in  themselves.  On  the  retreat  from  Gettys- 
burg it  was  necessary  to  feed  the  rear  guard,  from  Fair- 
field  to  Hagerstown,  to  send  details  from  each  regiment 
to  gather  rations. 

And  on  the  march  on  July  5th,  as  the  column  marched 
along  the  road,  men  could  occasionally  be  seen  shooting 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.     213 

the  cattle  in  the  fields.  The  remark  was  constant  in 
the  ranks:  "That's  an  outrage."  That's  no  better  than 
Yankees."  "That's  disgraceful  to  us."  For  the 
private  soldier  felt  as  high  a  sense  of  duty,  of  justice  to 
himself,  and  his  enemy,  as  Gen.  Lee.  Therefore, 
Johnston's  observation  was  just.  The  robbers,  thieves 
and  murderers  who  marched  into  North  Carolina  in 
March,  1865,  were  not  the  same  soldiers  who  had  left 
Dalton  the  preceding  spring.  They  had  become  bru- 
talized, demoralized.  They  would  not  face  death, 
the  way  the  soldiers  of  Missionary  Ridge,  of  Resaca, 
of  Kenesaw,  would  have  done.  Johnston  appreciated 
this,  and  on  it  were  based  his  hopes  for  a  "settlement." 

On  March  17  it  was  ascertained  that  the  troops  with 
which  Hardee  had  been  engaged  the  day  before  were 
not  marching  to  Raleigh,  but  no  definite  information 
could  be  gained  as  to  their  destination.  Hardee  remained 
at  Elevation  to  rest  his  people. 

At  Smithfield,  Bragg  had  Hoke,  and  his  North  Caro- 
linians, 4,775  effectives  and  Lieut.-Gen.  Stewart's  3,950 
of  the  Army  of  Tennessee. 

On  the  iSth  of  March  Johnston  was  informed  that 
Sherman's  right  wing  was  marching  on  the  direct  road 
from  Fayetteville  to  Goldsboro,  and  had  crossed  Black 
river,  while  his  left  wing  on  the  road  from  Averysboro 
had  not  reached  that  stream,  and  was  more  than  a  day's 
march  from  the  road  on  the  map,  opposite  Bentonville. 
That  hamlet  was  about  two  miles  to  the  north  of  the 
road,  and  sixteen  from  Smithfield. 

According   to  the   old   map  of    North  Carolina  they 


214  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

were  obliged  to  use,  the  roads  were  about  twelve  miles 
apart.  According  to  the  cavalry  reports  the  Federal 
right  wing  was  half  a  day's  march  ahead  of  the  left, 
and,  according  to  the  map,  the  roads  they  were  on  were 
twelve  miles  apart. 

Johnston  clubbed  his  force  and  ordered  the  troops 
from  Elevation  and  Smithfield  to  concentrate  at  Benton- 
ville,  so  as  to  mash  up  Sherman's  left  column  before  his 
right  could  get  up  to  him. 

But  the  map  deceived  them.  Instead  of  Elevation, 
Hardee's  position,  according  to  the  map,  being  only  12 
miles  from  Bentonville,  it  was  too  great  to  be  made  by 
Hardee  in  one  day,  and  the  distance  between  the  roads 
was  much  less  "than  the  map  represented  it;  so,  while 
Hardee  could  not  get  up  in  time,  the  Federals  could  and 
did.  Hardee  got  up  to  Bentonville  next  morning,  and 
Johnston  threw  his  troops  across  the  path  of  the  advanc- 
ing Federal  left  wing.  Hardee  with  9,500,  Bragg  and 
Stewart  with  5,600,  total  14,100,  in  front  of  35,000  men; 
nearly  three  to  one. 

As  Hampton  rode  down  the  line  which  he  was  estab- 
lishing, he  heard  one  of  the  South  Carolinans  say  to 
another,  lying  down  on  the  sedge  grass,  "The  old  man 
is  playing  a  pretty  stiff  bluff,  but  some  of  them  times 
these  Yankees  will  call  him,  and  then  look  out!" 
Hampton  rode  on  with  a  grim  chuckle  at  the  sort  of 
hand  he  was  bluffing  with. 

The  Federals  deployed  as  soon  as  they  felt  the  ob- 
struction in  their  way,  and  moved  vigorously  on  the 
Confederate  line.  This  advanced  at  once,  and  drove 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  215 

the  Federal  line  back  over  its  first  line  of  light  entrench- 
ments, thrown  up  in  the  woods,  and  Lieut.-Gen.  Hardee, 
leading  the  infantry  charge,  leaped  his  horse  over  the 
second  line  and  captured  it.  The  woods  were  so  thick 
that  no  orderly  advance  could  be  made,  and  the  Con- 
federates held  the  field  until  their  wounded  could  be 
removed;  after  which,  after  nightfall,  they  fell  back  to 
the  position  from  which  they  had  moved  in  the  morning. 
Four  pieces  of  artillery  were  taken,  but  one  piece  was 
left  on  the  ground  for  lack  of  horses  to  haul  it  off. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  March  20,  the  Federal  right 
wing,  which  had  left  the  Fayetteville  road  to  Goldsboro, 
crossed  to  that  to  Averysboro,  and  rapidly  attacked 
Hoke's  division,  which  was  in  rear.  Hampton  immedi- 
ately put  Butler's  and  Wheeler's  divisions  of  cavalry 
into  position  to  help  to  hold  Hoke's  line,  and  together, 
the  cavalry,  and  the  North  Carolinians  stood  the  Federals 
off,  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  against  repeated  attacks. 
All  day  of  March  21  the  Confederates  held  their  position 
against  repeated  and  resolute  attacks.  Lieut.-Gen. 
Hardee's  son,  a  boy  of  16,  fell  in  the  first  set  of  "fours" 
of  the  Eighth  Texas  cavalry,  with  whom  he  was  charg- 
ing. During  the  night  of  March  22,  the  troops  were 
withdrawn  to  Smithfield.  Johnston's  loss  in  the  three 
days'  fighting  was  223  killed,  1,467  wounded,  and  653 
missing — total  2,343,  out  of  a  total  of  14,000  engaged. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  Federal  loss  largely  exceeded 
4,000. 

After  Schofield  joined  Sherman  at  Goldsboro — after 
the  battle  of  Bentonville — Johnston  placed  himself  in 


2l6  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 

such  a  position  as  to  observe  the  roads  to  Richmond 
via  Weldon,  or  by  Raleigh,  Greensboro  and  Danville, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  be  in  position  to  join  hands  with 
Lee,  in  case  he  should  determine  to  let  go  Richmond, 
and  joining  Johnston,  fall  on  Sherman  before  Grant 
could  get  up. 

As  soon  as  Johnston  was  assigned  by  Lee  to  the  com- 
mand of  North  Carolina,  and  the  duty  of  "driving  back 
Sherman,"  he  had  been  incessant  in  representing  to  his 
superior  officer,  that  the  only  chance  to  save  the  Confed- 
eracy was  for  Lee  to  unite  with  him,  and  first  defeat 
Sherman,  and  then  Grant. 

To  the  last  moment  Johnston  was  not  without  hopes 
that  his  strategy  would  be  followed.  But  Lee  knew 
better  than  he  did.  He  couldn't  let  go  Grant.  Grant 
held  him  tight.  The  moment  he  inarched  out  of  the 
lines  at  Petersburg,  Grant's  strong  cavalry  horses  would 
flank  him.  Grant's  strong  artillery  horses  would  out- 
march him,  and  he  would  be  destroyed,  just  as  he  was 
destroyed  a  month  afterward,  in  his  vain  attempt  to 
reach  Danville  to  join  Johnston. 

But  Johnston  certainly  did  not  understand  to  what 
straits  his  comrade,  friend,  and  commanding  officer,  was 
reduced.  He  argued  the  question  as  if  it  was  a  matter 
of  volition. 

On  April  5,  he  received  the  press  dispatch  that  the 
Administration  had  caused  the  evacuation  of  Richmond 
on  the  2d. 

Johnston  supposed  that  they  had  adopted  his  ideas, 
and  were  moving  to  join  him.  He  heard  from  Brig.- 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.    217 

Gen.  W.  H.  Walker,  at  Danville,  on  April  7,  and 
Col.  Jno.  Taylor  Wood,  the  President's  aid,  on  the  8th, 
at  Greensboro,  but  there  was  no  news  of  Lee's  army, 
and  nothing  in  these  dispatches  to  suggest  the  idea  that 
Lee  had  been  driven  from  his  lines. 

On  March  22,  Schofield  joined  Sherman  at  Golds- 
boro  with  the  Twenty-third  Corps.  The  railroad  to 
Newbern  was  in  running  order,  and  supplies  were 
rapidly  brought  to  him. 

He  had  no  apprehension  then  of  being  stopped  by 
Lee  and  Johnston  combined,  for  he  had  with  his  colors 
full  93,000  fighting  men,  and  the  whole  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  with  the  Army  of  North  Carolina, 
could  not  have  barred  his  way. 

On  March  25th,  Sherman  started  by  rail  to  Newbern, 
and  thence  by  steamer  to  City  Point,  Virginia,  for  an 
interview  with  Grant,  reaching  Fortress  Monroe  on  27th. 
He  reached  City  Point  the  same  afternoon,  and  found 
President  Lincoln  there.  That  night  and  the  next  day 
was  spent  in  going  over  the  whole  situation.  Sherman 
was  anxious  that  Lee  should  remain  where  he  was  until 
he,  Sherman,  could  get  to  Burkeville,  when  Lee 
would  have  to  starve,  or  come  out  of  his  entrenchments 
and  fight  Grant  and  him  combined. 

The  two  Generals  expected  another  battle  would  be 
necessary  to  finish  up  the  war,  but  the  President  depre- 
cated more  bloodshed.  "His  mind,"  says  Sherman, 
"was  all  ready  for  the  civil  organization  of  officers  at 
the  South,"  and  he  authorized  Sherman  to  assure  Gov. 
Vance,  and  the  people  of  North  Carolina}  that  as  soon 


2l8  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

as  the  Rebel  armies  laid  down  their  arms,  and  resumed 
their  civil  pursuits,  they  would  at  once  be  guaranteed 
all  their  rights,  as  citizens  of  a  common  country,  and 
that,  to  avoid  anarchy,  the  State  government  then  in 
existence,  with  their  civil  functionaries,  would  be  recog- 
nized by  him  as  the  government  defacto  until  Congress 
could  provide  others.* 

They  parted  at  noon,  March  28th.  Sherman  reached 
Newbern,  March  3Oth,  and  Goldsborough  the  same 
evening. 

By  the  5th  of  April  he  was  ready  to  move,  and  issued 
his  confidential  order  to  his  army  commanders,  that  the 
next  move  was  to  place  the  army  north  of  the  Roanoke^ 
facing  west,  with  its  base  of  supplies  at  Norfolk,  or  on 
the  Chowan,  and  in  full  communication  with  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  at  Petersburg.  The  march  was  to 
begin  in  earnest  on  March  12.  But  the  news  of  the  fall 
of  Richmond  reached  him  on  April  nth,  and  Sherman 
appointed  April  i2th  to  move  direct  on  Raleigh,  pre- 
pared to  follow  Johnston  wherever  he  might  go. 

On  the  9th,  Johnston  still  had  no  definite  information 
as  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Virginia.  On  the  loth 
Johnston  moved  back  to  Raleigh,  with  Sherman  about 
twenty-five  miles  in  his  rear.  At  one  o'clock  next 
morning,  in  his  camp  at  Battles  Bridge,  over  the  Neuse, 
he  received  a  telegram  from  President  Davis,  dated 
Danville,  the  evening  before,  informing  him  that  an 
unofficial  report  had  just  reached  him  that  Lee  had 
surrendered  the  day  before — April  pth. 


'Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  p.  327. 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.    219 

The  Confederates  reached  Raleigh  during  the  after- 
noon of  the  nth.  During  that  same  night,  Sherman,  at 
Smithfield,  received  a  message  from  Grant,  informing 
him  of  Lee's  surrender. 

He  published  it  in  a  general  order  to  his  troops  the  next 
morning,  and,  of  course,  it  invigorated  and  refreshed 
them  more  than  anything  else  could  have  done.  He 
reached  Raleigh  the  next  day,  and  again  announced  to 
his  troops  his  plans — that  his  next  move  would  be  to 
Ashboro  to  cut  off  Johnston's  retreat  southward. 

Thus  matters  stood,  when  on  April  14,  Kilpatrick 
reported  from  Durham  Station,  twenty-six  miles  up  the 
North  "Carolina  Railroad,  that  a  flag  of  truce  had  come 
in  with  a  package  from  Gen.  Johnston,  addressed  to 
Sherman. 

The  Confederates  continued  their  retreat  toward 
Hillsboro  and  Greensboro,  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
nth,  Gen.  Johnston  received  an  order  by  telegraph 
from  President  Davis  at  Greensboro,  directing  him  to 
report  there  in  person  without  delay. 

He  reached  that  place  on  the  morning  of  April  12, 
and  went  at  once  to  Beauregard's  quarters  in  a  railroad 
car.  In  an  hour  or  two  the  Generals  were  summoned 
to  meet  President  Davis,  with  whom  they  found  Messrs. 
Benjamin,  Secretary  of  State;  Mallory,  -Secretary  of 
War,  and  Reagan,  Postmaster-General. 

Mr.  Davis  was  eager  to  continue  the  war.  He  stated 
that  in  two  or  three  weeks  he  would  have  a  large  army 
in  the  field,  by  bringing  back  those  who  had  deserted, 
and  gone  home,  and  by  calling  out  those  liable  to  con 


220  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

scription,  whom  the  conscript  officers  had  been  unable  to 
obtain.  The  Generals  remarked  that  it  was  unlikely 
that  those  who  had  deserted,  and  who  would  not  join, 
when  circumstances  were  more  favorable,  could  be 
expected  to  come  forward  now  when  circumstances  were 
desperate. 

And  so  the  conference  was  adjourned  until  Gen. 
Breckenridge,  the  Secretary  of  War,  should  arrive, 
who  was  expected  that  evening,  with  certain  news  from 
Virginia. 

Gens.  Johnston  and  Beauregard,  comparing  views  of 
the  situation,  concluded  that  the  Confederacy  was  over- 
thrown, and  that  the  only  thing  left  was  to  make  terms. 
And  when  Breckenridge  arrived,  Johnston  presented 
this  conclusion  to  him,  and  said  that  the  only  power  left 
President  Davis  was  that  of  terminating  the  war,  and 
that  this  power  should  be  exercised  without  more  delay. 

Mr.  Mallory,  in  conversation,  agreed  with  Gen.  John- 
ston. The  next  day,  by  Breckenridge 's  arrangement, 
Johnston  and  Beauregard  were  summoned  to  President 
Davis,  where  they  presented  a  comparison  of  the  military 
forces  of  the  two  sides.  The  Confederates  had  an  army 
of  20,000  infantry  and  artillery,  and  5,000  cavalry.  The 
United  States  had  Grant's  army  of  180,000,  Sherman's 
of  110,000,  and  Canby's  of  60,000 — odds  of  14  to  one. 

Johnston  represented  that  under  such  circumstances  it 
would  be  the  greatest  of  human  crimes  to  attempt 
to  continue  the  war ;  for  having  neither  money  nor  credit, 
nor  arms  but  those  in  the  hands  of  our  soldiers,  nor 
ammunition  but  that  in  their  cartridge  boxes,  nor  shops 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.  221 

for  repairing  arms  or  fixing  ammunition,  the  effect  of 
our  keeping  the  field  would  be,  not  to  harm  the  enemy, 
but  to  complete  the  devastation  of  our  country  and  ruin 
of  its  people.  He  therefore  urged  that  the  President 
should  exercise  at  once  the  only  function  of  government 
still  in  his  possession,  and  open  negotiations  for  peace.* 

Mr.  Davis  requested  the  members  of  the  Cabinet 
present  to  express  their  opinions.  Breckenridge,  Mai- 
lory  and  Reagan  agreed  with  Johnston.  Benjamin  was 
for  war,  and  made  a  speech,  says  Johnston,  much  like 
that  of  Sempronius  in  Addison's  play.  Mr.  Davis  said 
it  was  idle  for  him  to  attempt  to  negotiate,  for  the  other 
side  had  repeatedly  refused  to  recognize  him. 

Johnston  suggested  that  it  had  not  been  unusual  for 
military  commanders  to  initiate  negotiations  upon  which 
treaties  of  peace  were  founded,  and  proposed  that  he  be 
allowed  to  address  Gen.  Sherman  on  the  subject. 

The  President  agreed  that  Johnston  should  address  a 
proposition  to  Sherman  for  an  armistice  to  enable  the 
civil  authorities  to  agree  upon  terms  of  peace. 

He  dictated  such  a  letter,  which  was  reduced  to 
writing  by  Mr.  Mallory,  signed  by  Johnston,  and  at 
once  dispatched  to  Sherman. 

It  was  in  these  words : 

April  13,  1865. 

"The  results  of  the  recent  campaign  in  Virginia  have 
changed  the  relative  military  condition  of  the  belig- 
erents.  I  am,  therefore,  induced  to  address  you  in  this 
form,  the  inquiry  whether  to  stop  the  further  effusion  of 
blood  and  devastation  of  property,  you  are  willing  to 
make  a  temporary  suspension  of  active  operations,  and 

*  Johnston's  Narrative,  p.  398. 


222  LIFfi    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

to  communicate  to  Lieut. -Gen  Grant,  commanding  the 
armies  of  the  United  States,  the  request  that  he  will  take 
like  action  in  regard  to  other  armies,  the  object  being  to 
permit  the  civil  authorities  to  enter  into  the  needful 
arrangements  to  terminate  the  existing  war." 

This  is  the  letter  of  which  Kilpatrick  sent  Sherman 
notice. 

On  the  I4th  Sherman  received  the  letter  and  replied 

at  once: 

HEADQUARTERS  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  \ 

THE  MISSISSIPPI, 
IN  THE  FIELD,  RALEIGH,  April  14,  1865.  ) 

Gen.  Jos.   E.  Johnston, 

Commanding'  Confederate  Army: 

General — I  have  this  moment  received  your  communi- 
cation of  this  date.  I  am  fully  empowered  to  arrange 
with  you  any  terms  for  the  suspension  of  further  hostili- 
ties between  the  armies  commanded  by  you,  and  those 
commanded  by  myself,  and  will  be  willing  to  confer 
with  you  to  that  end. 

I  will  limit  the  advance  of  my  main  column  to-morrow 
to  Morrisville,  and  the  cavalry  to  the  University,  and 
expect  that  you  will  also  maintain  the  present  position 
of  your  forces,  until  each  has  notice  of  a  failure  to  agree. 

That  a  basis  of  action  may  be  had,  I  undertake  to 
abide  by  the  same  terms  and  conditions,  as  were  made 
by  Gens.  Grant  and  Lee  at  Appomattox  court-house,  on 
the  9th  instant,  relative  to  our  two  armies,  and,  further, 
to  obtain  from  Gen.  Grant  an  order  to  suspend  the  move- 
ments of  any  troops,  from  the  direction  of  Virginia. 
Gen.  Stoneman  is  under  my  commmand,  and  my  order 
will  suspend  any  devastation  or  destruction  contemplated 
by  him.  I  will  add  that  I  really  desire  to  save  the 
people  of  North  Carolina  the  damage  they  would 
sustain  by  the  march  of  this  army  through  the  central  or 
western  parts  of  the  State. 

I  am,  with  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  T.   SHERMAN.  Maior-Gcncral 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.    223 

It  was  arranged  that  the  two  Generals  should  meet  on 
the  i^th  at  a  point  midway  between  Sherman's  advance  at 
Durhams  and  Johnson's  rear  at  Hillsborough.  Just  as 
Sherman  was  about  to  start  for  this  meeting,  the  telegraph 
operator,  whose  office  was  up-stairs  in  the  depot  building, 
came  running  into  Gen.  Sherman's  car  and  told  him  he 
was  just  receiving  an  important  dispatch  in  cypher 
which  it  was  necessary  for  the  General  to  see  before  he 
left.  This  was  at  8  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  iyth. 
Sherman  held  the  train  for  half  an  hour,  when  the 
operator  returned  with  the  message  translated  and 
transcribed. 

It  was  from  Stanton  informing  him  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  Lincoln,  April  14,  the  attempt  on  the* life  of  Mr. 
Seward  and  son,  and  a  suspicion  that  a  like  fate  was 
designed  for  Gen.  Grant,  and  all  the  principal  officers  of 
the  government. 

After  charging  the  man  to  keep  this  news  absolutely 
to  himself  until  the  General's  return,  he  proceeded  to 
Durham's,  and  riding  out  on  the  road  probably  five 
miles,  met  Johnston,  where  they  had  a  private  confer- 
ence, at  the  house  of  a  gentleman  named  Bennet. 

The  first  thing  Sherman  did  was  to  show  Johnston  the 
dispatch  announcing  Lincoln's  assassination.  It  dis- 
tressed him  inexpressibly.  Large  drops  of  perspiration, 
Sherman  says,  burst  out  on  his  forehead,  and  he 
denounced  the  act  as  a  disgrace  to  the  age,  and  hoped 
that  Sherman  did  not  charge  it  to  the  Canfederate 
Government. 

Sherman  assured  him  "that  he  did  not  believe  that  he 


224  LIFE    OF    GEN-   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

or  Gen.  Lee  or  the  officers  of  the  Confederate  Army 
could  possibly  be  privy  to  acts  of  assassination,"  but  he 
"would  not  say  as  much  for  Jeff  Davis,  George  Sanders, 
and  men  of  that  stripe."  Sherman  urged  Johnston  to 
surrender  on  Grant's  terms  to  Lee. 

Johnston  insisted  that  they  ought  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  all  the  Confederate  armies.  That  he  could 
procure  authority  to  control  all  of  them,  and  that  in  addi- 
tion to  providing  for  the  laying  down  their  arms,  they 
must  be  secured  in  their  personal  property  and  political 
rights.  Sherman  then  told  Johnston  of  his  recent 
interview  with  President  Lincoln  and  General  Grant, 
and  assured  him  that  he  was  perfectly  and  fully 
informed  as  to  the  views  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  he  had  authority  to  arrange  with  John- 
ston on  the  terms  stated  and  requested  by  him.  It  was 
agreed  that  Johnston  should  return  to  his  lines,  and  get 
authority  to  arrange  for  all  the  Confederate  armies,  and 
that  they  would  meet  again  the  next  day  at  the  same 
place. 

After  some  discussion,  Johnston  brought  Brecken- 
ridge  into  the  conference,  and  a  messenger,  having 
brought  a  package  to  Johnston,  he  opened  it,  and,  after 
a  side  talk  with  Breckenridge,  handed  one  of  the  papers 
from  it  to  Sherman.  It  was,  says  Sherman,  the  draft  in 
Reagan's  handwriting  of  the  terms,  and  began  with  a 
preamble  so  long  and  verbose,  that  Sherman  at  once 
rejected  it. 

"Then,"  says  he,  "recalling  the  conversation  with 
Mr.  Lincoln  at  City  Point,  I  sat  down  at  the  table  and 


SHERMAN  AND  CORNWALLIS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA.    225 

wrote  off  the  terms,  which  I  thought  concisely  expressed 
his  views  and  wishes,  and  explained  that  I  was  willing 
to  submit  these  terms  to  the  new  President,  Mr.  John- 
son, provided  that  both  armies  should  remain  in  statu 
quo  until  the  truce  therein  declared  should  expire.  I 
had  full  faith  that  General  Johnston  would  religiously 
respect  the  truce,  which  he  did.  And  that  /  sliould  be 
the  gainer, for  in  the  few  days  it  would  take  to  send  the 
papers  to  Washington  and  receive  an  answer,  I  could 
finisli  the  railroad  to  Raleigh,  and  be  the  better  prepared 
for  a  long  chase."* 

This  is  General  Sherman's  idea  of  preserving  the 
status  quo,  and  religiously  respecting  the  truce. 

"Neither  Mr.  Breckenridge  nor  General  Johnston 
wrote  one  word  of  that  paper.  I  wrote  it  myself  and 
announced  it  as  the  best  I  could  do,  and  they  readily 
assented,  "f 

This  paper  is  known  as  the  "Convention  at  Dur- 
ham's." 


*\iemoirs,  Vol.  II,  p.  353. 
t\»e»noirs,  Vol.  II,  p.  353. 


226  1/IFTC    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    CONVENTION     AT    DURHAM'S. 

r  I  ^HE  paper  signed  is  in  these  words  :  Memorandum 
or  basis  of  agreement  made  this  i8th  day  of 
April,  1865,  near  Durham's  Station,  in  the  State  of 
North  Carolina,  by  and  between  Gen.  Joseph  E.  John- 
ston, commanding  the  Confederate  Army,  and  Major- 
Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  commanding  the  Army  of  the 
United  States,  in  North  Carolina,  both  present: 

1 .  The  contending  armies  now  in  the  field  to  maintain 
the  statu  quo  until  notice  is  given  by  the  commanding 
General    of  any  one,  to  its    opponent,  and    reasonable 
time,  say  forty-eight  hours,  allowed. 

2.  The  Confederate   armies  now  in   existence  to  be 
disbanded,  and  conducted  to  their  several  State  capitals, 
there  to  deposit  their  arms  and  public  property  in  the 
State  arsenal ;  and  each  officer  and  man  to  execute  and 
file  an   agreement,  to  cease   from   acts  of  war,   and  to 
abide  the    action  of  the  State    and   Federal  authority. 
The  number  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war  to  be  reported 
to  the  chief  of  ordnance  at  Washington  city,  subject  to  the 
future  action  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and 
in  the  meantime  to  be  used  solely  to  maintain  peace  and 
order  within  the  borders  of  the  States  respectively. 

3.  The  recognition  by  the  Executive  of  the  United 
States,  of  the  several  State  governments,  on  their  officers 
and  Legislatures  taking  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Con- 
stitution   of   the  United    States,  and    where    conflicting 
State    governments    have    resulted    from    the    war,    the 


THE    CONVENTION    AT    DURHAM'S.  227 

legitimacy    of  all    shall    be    submitted    to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States. 

4.  The  re-establishment  of  all  the  Federal  courts  in 
the    several    States,    with    powers,    as    defined    by   the 
Constitution   of   the    United  States,    and    of   the    States 
respectively. 

5.  The  people  and  inhabitants  of  all  the  States  to  be 
guaranteed,  so  far  as  the  Executive  can,  their  political 
rights  and  franchises,   as  well  as  their  rights  of  person 
and  property,    as   defined   by    the     Constitution    of    the 
United  States,  and  of  the  States  rsepectively. 

6.  The  Executive  authority  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  not  to  disturb  any  of  the  people  by  reason 
of  the  late  war,  so  long  as  they  live  in  peace  and  quiet, 
abstain  from  acts  of  armed  hostility,  and  obey  the  laws 
in  existence  at  the  place  of  their  residence. 

7.  In    general   terms — the   war   to  cease — a  general 
amnesty,  so  far  as  the  Executive   of  the  United  States 
can  command,  on  condition  of  the  disbandment  of  the 
Confederate  armies,  the  distribution  of  the  arms,    and 
the  resumption  of  peaceful  pursuits,  by  the  officers  and 
men  hitherto  composing  said  armies. 

Not  being  fully  empowered  by  our  respective  prin- 
cipals to  fulfill  these  terms,  we,  individually  and  officially, 
pledge  ourselves  to  promptly  obtain  the  necessary 
authority,  and  to  carry  out  the  above  programme. 

W.  T.   SHERMAN, 

Major- General,  Commanding  Army  of  the 
United  States,  in  North  Carolina. 

J.   E.  JOHNSTON, 

General,  Commanding  Confederate  States 
Army  in  North  Carolina. 


228  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Sherman  says  he  wrote  every  word  of  this  paper. 
Johnston  says  Sherman  wrote  it  very  rapidly,  with 
Johnston's  memorandum  lying  on  the  table  before  him, 
as  if  he  had  come  prepared  to  make  that  arrangement. 

In  the  discussion,  Johnston's  point  had  been  a  general 
disarmament  of  the  Confederate  armies,  and,  in  con- 
sideration of  that,  a  general  amnesty  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

The  proposition  to  guarantee  to  the  Confederates  all 
their  rights  of  private  property  as  defined  by  the  State 
constitutions )  came  from  Sherman,  as  far  as  can  be  under- 
stood from  Johnston's  Narrative  and  Sherman's  Memoirs. 
What  he  meant  by  it  is  impossible  to  say,  for  it  was  a 
distinct  promise  to  protect  property  in  slaves,  which  had 
.already  been  destroyed  by  the  proclamation  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  as  far  as  any  executive  act  could  destroy  it. 

In  fact  it  is  difficult  to  understand  Gen.  Sherman's 
position  about  this  convention,  "every  word  of  which  he 
wrote  himself."  Johnston  nor  Breckenridge  did  not 
write  a  word  of  it. 

Johnston,  who  was  only  a  plain  Virginia  gentleman, 
and  a  soldier  trained  in  the  traditions  of  the  old  army  of 
the  United  States,  evidently  took  the  agreement  to  be 
serious,  and  that  he  was  bound  by  it. 

When  he  pledged  himself,  in  the  first  article,  that  the 
armies  should  maintain  the  status  quo  during  the  truce, 
he  really  believed  that  his  honor  was  pledged  to  do  so, 
and  he  religiously  did  as  he  had  promised.  • 

Sherman,  however,  did  not  take  it  so  seriously,  but 
strained  every  effort  to  complete  the  railroad  from 


THE    CONVENTION    AT    DURHAM  S. 

Goldsboro  to  Raleigh,  so  that  if  he  was  obliged  to  follow 
Johnston  toward  the  West  or  Southwest,  his  commu- 
nications with  his  base  at  Newbern  being  thus  perfected, 
would  give  him  an  enormous  advantage.  His  idea  of 
the  status  qtio  seems  to  have  been  to  employ  the  truce  in 
bettering  his  condition  as  much  as  possible. 

Johnston  believed  that  when  he  pledged  himself  offi- 
cially and  personally  to  obtain  the  necessary  authority  to 
make  the  agreement,  and  to  carry  out  the  programme, 
'  that  his  honor  as  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman  was  involved 
and  he,  without  an  hour's  delay,  applied  to  President 
Davis  for  ratification  of  this  action  and  approval  of  the 
convention. 

Such  a  pledge  sat  more  lightly  on  Gen.  Sherman's 
mind,  for,  he  said,  "he  wrote  to  Gen.  Grant  and  the 
Secretary  of  War,  submitting  the  agreement  for  their 
action,  and  the  letters  fully  explained  that  the  military 
situation  was  such  that  the  delay  was  an  advantage  to 
us.  I  cared  little  whether  they  were  approved,  modified 
or  disapproved  in  toto.  I  only  wanted  instructions." 

This  was  like  his  observing  the  truce,  by  repairing  his 
railroad.  He  pledged  himself  as  a  man,  and  as  a  soldier, 
to  obtain  the  approval  of  his  superiors,  and  then  writes 
them  that  the  delay  was  helping  him,  and  their  approval 
was  a  matter  of  no  consequence. 

The  convention  was  signed  April  18,  1865.  Sherman 
sent  a  staff  officer  off  at  once  by  Newbern  and  Morehead 
to  Washington,  and  who  returned  to  Raleigh  on  24th, 
bringing  Gen.  Grant,  accompanied  by  one  or  two  officers 
of  his  staff. 


230  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

It  cannot  be  understood  from  the  memoirs  of  Sherman 
or  Grant  how  far  this  Durham's  station  convention  was 
meant  to  be  serious,  or  only  a  trap  to  catch  Johnston. 

It  was  certainly  a  wise,  statesmanlike  and  patriotic 
measure,  and  if  "the  programme"  had  been  carried  out, 
would  have  saved  the  country  twenty  years  of  dis- 
order, turmoil  and  disturbed  society.  The  troops 
marched  to  their  respective  homes  by  their  own  com- 
mands, the  State  government  of  the  people  recognized, 
the  Union  would  have  been  restored,  their  relations  to 
the  Federal  government  would  have  been  re-established, 
their  own  leaders  would  have  represented  them  in  the 
Congress,  and  peace  and  order  would  have  been  estab- 
lished at  once.  Instead  of  that,  the  Revolutionary 
Reconstruction  Legislation  of  Congress  actually  re- 
versed society,  and  put  on  top  those  classes  who  every- 
where are  at  the  bottom  of  the  social  structure,  and  in 
the  operation  of  nature,  by  which  the  proper  organiza- 
tion of  society  was  restored,  much  suffering  was  caused, 
and  bitter  feelings  created.  The  experience  has  been 
beneficial  to  the  Confederates.  The  trials  and  ordeal 
through  which  they  have  passed,  have  been  beneficial  to 
them,  but  probably  the  whole  country  would  have  been 
better  off  if  the  convention  at  Durham  had  been  ratified, 
and  "the  programme"  carried  out.  But  in  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington  there  had  always  been  a  jealousy 
of  the  military  power,  and  a  vague  uneasiness  about  a 
dictatorship. 

Mr.  Seward  was  a  philosophic  student  of  history,  Mr. 
Sumner  was  a  scholar,  Secretary  Chase  was  a  man  of 


THE    CONVENTION    AT    DURHAM  S.  23! 

great  intellectual  force  and  acquirements,  and  Mr. 
Stanton  was  the  Danton  of  that  revolution.  * 

It  may  be,  that,  perfectly  conscious  that  they  had 
overturned  Constitutional  government,  and  were  con- 
ducting a  great  revolution,  in  defiance  of  all  the  safe- 
guards of  public  liberty  and  private  right,  they  felt  that 
the  time  might  easily  come  when  they  would  be  over- 
turned by  the  "man  on  horseback."  Thus  Cromwell, 
backed  by  the  army,  had  dissolved  Parliament.  Thus 
Napoleon,  with  the  guards,  had  dispersed  the  Assembly 
in  France.  For  several  years,  it  is  apparent  there  was 
a  cloud  hanging  over'the  politicians  at  Washington — a 
cloud  of  apprehension  of  the  dictator.  This  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  jealousy  of  McClellan,  of  the  early  snub- 
bing of  Grant  in  the  West,  and  the  squelching  of 
Sherman,  by  Stanton,  about  the  Durham  convention. 

During  the  summer  of  1861,  and  the  winter  of  1861- 
62,  there  was  much  discussion  among  the  Confederate 
officers  at  Fairfax  Courthouse  and  Centerville.  Among 
them  were  several  who  had  known  McClellan  inti- 
mately, from  his  West  Point  days,  who  had  served 
with  him  in  Mexico  and  in  garrison  since,  who  knew 
the  fibre  of  his  mind — the  tendency  of  his  thoughts,  his 
feelings,  his  sympathies  and  his  ambitions.  They 
knew  McClellan  to  be  extremely  ambitious,  and  with 
an  appreciation  of  his  own  capacity  by  no  means 
moderate. 

An  idea  got  about,  I  can  give  no  authority,  can  refer 
to  no  record,  but  an  idea  floated  around  the  army, 
division  and  brigade  headquarters  of  Johnston's  army  of 


23-  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  Potomac,  that  McClellan  was  organizing  that  grand 
army  until  he  had  it  sufficiently  in  hand ;  when  he 
would  propose  a  truce  to  Johnston,  in  order  that  they, 
two,  at  the  head  of  these  armies,  might  make  peace  and 
restore  the  Union  and  compel  their  respective  govern- 
ments to  ratify  and  accept  their  settlement. 

No  one  believed  that  Johnston  would  not  resent  such 
an  idea,  but  officers  wrho  knew  McClellan  well  and  who 
had  been  more  intimate  with  him  than  any  of  those  who 
were  with  the  Federal  side,  believed  such  a  thing  not 
impossible  with  him. 

I  do  not  wish  to  do  him  an  injustice,  for  he  was  an 
honorable,  chivalric,  high-minded  solder,  but  I  show 
what  views  some  of  his  antagonists  held  about  him. 

I  believe  the  same  opinions  were  entertained  in  Mr. 
Lincoln's  cabinet,  and  they  were  particularly  careful 
that  the  army  should  be  kept  in  strict  subordination  to 
the  civil  authority. 

The  tramp  of  the  coming  horseman  was  always 
sounding  in  their  ears.  So  when  Grant  telegraphed  Mr. 
Lincoln,  March  3d,  for  permission  to  meet  Lee,  and 
treat  for  peace,  Lincoln  promptly  answered  him  that 
treating  for  peace  was  none  of  his  business,  that  he  was 
not  to  interfere  with  any  political  question,  but  to  confine 
himself  entirely  to  military  matters. 

When,  therefore,  Sherman  undertook  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  of  peace,  which  fixed  the  legal  status  of  States 
and  of  people,  here  was  the  dictator  sure  enough,  they 
thought. 

Lincoln  had  been  assassinated.     Andrew  Johnson,  the 


THE  CONVENTION  AT  DURHAM  S.         233 

n£w  president,  crazed  by  terror ;  and  here  was  the  victor 
of  a  hundred  fields,  having  a  veteran  army  of  100,000 
men,  ready  to  march  to  Washington,  and  impose  his  terms 
on  President  Johnson,  as  he  had  done  on  General 
Johnston. 

The  panic  was  puerile,  but  it  was  real,  and  Sherman's 
act  was  repudiated  in  a  manner,  the  most  mortifying  to 
him,  and  humiliating  to  the  army. 

The  manner  of  doing  this  was  intended  to  break  the 
force  of  Sherman's  position  before  the  American  people. 
In  a  bulletin  given  to  the  press,  signed  by  Stanton, 
Secretary  of  War,  it  was  intimated  that  Sherman  had 
made  a  bargain  with  President  Davis,  in  consideration 
of  the  President  of  the  Confederacy  dividing,  with  the 
General  of  the  Federal  Army,  the  gold  which  he  was 
carrying  off,  that  the  Confederate  should  be  allowed  to 
escape. 

And  the  same  people  published  a  proclamation  to  the 
world,  charging  Jefferson  Davis  with  being  accessory 
to  the  murder  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  A  charge  which 
no  one  believed  at  the  time,  never  has  been  believed 
since,  and  which  stands  to-day  unretracted  in  the 
archives  of  the  United  States. 

Orders  were  issued  to  the  armies  in  the  South  not  to 
obey  Sherman.* 

They  sent  Grant  back  from  Washington  to  take 
charge  of  Sherman's  army,  and  if  necessary,  to  take 
command  of  it.f 

Sherman    notified  Johnston   of   the    rejection    of   the 

*Grant's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  p.  516. 
tGraut's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  p.  516. 


234  LIFE    OF    GEN-    JOSEPH    K.  JOHNSTON. 

convention,  and  under  Grant's  dictation,  demanded 
Johnston's  surrender  upon  the  terms  granted  by  Grant 
to  Lee  at  Appomattox  court-house. 

Now  occurs  another  incident  which  shocks  us,  and 
will  shock  posterity  more  than  any  breach  of  faith  con- 
nected with  this  negotiation. 

By  the  convention  at  Durham's,  April  18  (Section  7),  it 
was  agreed  that  there  should  be  "universal  amnesty,  so 
far  as  the  Executive  of  the  United  States  can  command." 

The  Executive  of  the  United  States  had  complete 
control  of  an  amnesty,  for  no  one  could  be  punished, 
whom  he  chose  to  pardon. 

This  agreement  was  signed  by  General  Sherman  on 
the  1 8th.  He  was  notified  of  its  rejection  by  his  gov- 
ernment on  the  24th,  and  on  the  25th  wrote  General 
Grant: 

"As  to  punishment  for  past  crimes,  that  is  for  the 
judiciary,  and  can  in  no  ways  be  disturbed  .by  our  acts; 
and  so  far  as  I  can,  I  will  use  my  influence  that  Rebels 
shall  suffer  all  the  personal  punishment  prescribed  by 
law,  as  also  the  civil  liabilities  arising  from  their  past 
acts."* 

The  next  day  he  made  this  new  agreement  with 
Johnston,  who  knew  nothing  as  to  how  Sherman  had 
been  preserving  the  status  quo,  under  the  truce,  by 
repairing  the  railroads,  and  of  course  could  know 
nothing  of  the  letter  to  Grant  of  the  preceding  day, 
promising  to  use  his  influence  to  have  Johnston,  Ex- 
Quartermaster-General  of  the  Army  of  the  United 
States,  hung. 

•Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  p.  361. 


THE    CONVENTION    AT    DURHAM'S.  235 

The  new  agreement  was : 

Terms  of  a  Military  Convention,  entered  into  this 
26th  day  of  April,  1865,  at  Bennett's  House,  near 
Durham's  Station,  North  Carolina,  between  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  commanding  the  Confederate 
Army,  and  Major-General  W.  T  Sherman,  command- 
ing the  United  States  Army  in  North  Carolina. 

1.  All  acts  of  war,  on  the  part  of  the  troops  under 
General  Johnston's  command,  to  cease  from  this  date. 

2.  All  arms  and  public  property  to  be   deposited  at 
Greensboro,  and  delivered  to  an  ordnance  officer  of  the 
United  States  Army. 

3.  Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in 
duplicate,    one     copy    to    be    retained    by    the     com- 
mander of  the  troops,  and  the  other  to  be  given  to  an 
officer,    to    be    designated  by  Gen.    Sherman.       Each 
officer    and    man    to    give    his  individual    obligation    in 
writing  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  until  properly  released  from  this  obligation. 

4.  The  side  arms  of  officers,  and  their  private  horses 
and  baggage,  to  be  retained  by  them. 

5.  This  being  done,  all  the  officers  and  men  will  be 
permitted  to  return  to  their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by 
the    United  States  authorities,   so   long   as  they  observe 
their  obligation  and  the  laws  in   force  where  they  may 
reside.  W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

Major-General,  Commanding  United  States 
Forces  in  North  Carolina, 
.  J.  E.  JOHNSTON, 
General,    Commanding  Confederate  States 

Forces  in  North  Carolina. 
Approved:  U.  S.  GRANT, 

Lieutenant-  General. 


236  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E     JOHNSTON. 

Stanton's  bulletin,  insinuating  that  Sherman  was  let- 
ting Davis  off  for  a  share  of  his  plunder,  was  intended 
to  insult  and  degrade  Sherman.  It  was  an  outrage  on 
a  soldier,  and  an  infamy  on  a  gentleman. 

But  it  was  not  as  severe  as  the  record  Sherman  makes 
for  himself.  One  day  he  wrote  to  his  superior  officer 
pledging  himself  to  use  his  influence  that  rebels  shall 
suffer  all  the  personal  punishment  prescribed  by  law,  as 
also  the  civil  liabilities,  arising  from  their  past  acts. 

The  personal  punishment  prescribed  by  law  was 
hanging;  the  civil  liabilities  were  confiscation  of  all  the 
property  of  the  rebels.  When  Gen.  Sherman  the  next 
day  made  the  agreement  with  Gen.  Johnston,  he  said: 
"If  you  will  stop  fighting  and  disarm  your  people  I  will 
guarantee  that  you  may  go  home  and  live  undisturbed." 
And  to  Grant  he  said:  "As  soon  as  I  get  these  people 
disarmed,  I'll  have  as  many  of  them  hung  as  possible, 
and  will  confiscate  their  property."  It  was  another 
application  of  the  law  of  prize,  as  sought  to  be  applied 
to  the  Savannah  cotton. 

Stanton's  insinuation  against  Sherman's  integrity  was 
dreadful,  but  it  is  not  one  hundredth  part  as  infamous 
as  Sherman's  proof  against  himself.  It  is  a  sad  thing 
for  his  reputation  that  his  memoirs  should  ever  have  seen 
the  light. 

His  confession  that  he  made  a  false  charge  against 
Hampton,  in  order  to  injure  his  reputation — his  admis- 
sion that  he  employed  his  time  during  the  truce,  which 
pledged  him  to  preserve  the  status  quo,  in  destroying 
the  status  qrio  by  the  reconstruction  of  vital  railroads — 


THE    CONVENTION    AT    DURHAM'S.  237 

his  statement  that  he  induced  Johnston  to  give  up  his 
arms,  under  a  promise  of  protection,  while  his  real  in- 
tention was  to  prosecute  him  to  the  extent  of  the  law — 
all  will  stand  against  Sherman's  reputation  as  an  honor- 
able man  to  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time.  He  has 
deliberately  made  his  own  record,  and  he  is  to  be  held 
responsible  at  the  bar  of  history  for  it. 

I  am  not  aware,  nor  have  I  ever  heard,  that  Sherman 
anywhere,  at  any  time,  sought  to  redeem  the  pledge  he 
made  at  Durham's  station.  Not  so  the  great  soldier,  his 
superior.  There  was  not  a  moment,  from  the  surrender 
at  Appomattox  court-house  until  his  death,  that  the  heart 
of  Grant  was  not  full  of  generosity  to  his  late  foes. 

If  Lincoln  had  lived,  the  people  would  have  been 
saved  great  suffering;  but  Lincoln  dead,  Grant  stood 
"like  a  stonewall"  between  the  soldiers,  who  had  his 
parole,  and  the  blood-hounds  baying  on  their  track. 

There  was  a  mature,  deliberate,  carefully  concocted 
plan  to  indict,  try,  convict  and  punish  Lee. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  instructed  the 
Judge  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Virginia  to  secure  the  indictment  of  President  Davis  and 
Gen.  Lee  for  treason.*  . 

In  May,  1866,  accordingly,  an  indictment  was  found 
against  the  commander  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia, and  a  motion  made  for  a  bench  warrant  for  his 
arrest.  Lee  inclosed  a  copy  of  the  newspaper  notice  of 
these  transactions  to  Grant,  then  the  General  in  com- 
mand of  the  armies  of  the  United  States. 


*Chase's  Decisions,  p.  i. 


238 


J.IFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


Without  a  moment's  hesitation  or  an  instant's  doubt, 
Grant  addressed  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  insisting,  in  fiery  terms,  that  it  was  a  question  of 
his  honor )  of  his  faith,  that  all  proceedings  against 
Lee  should  be  promptly  suppressed,  and,  upon  some 
discussion  raised,  intimated  that  his  resignation  was  the 
alternative  to  a  refusal  of  his  demand.  So  peremptory 
a  demand  admitted  of  no  paltering,  and  the  proceeding 
against  Lee  was  suspended. 

Shortly  afterward,  another  officer,  included  in  the 
terms  of  the  Durham  convention,  which  Grant  had 
signed,  was  arrested  in  Baltimore  on  an  indictment  for 
overt  acts  of  treason  committed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
Gen.  Johnston,  with  the  officer  who  had  been  arrested, 
waited  on  Grant  at  army  headquarters  at  Washington, and 
claimed  the  protection  of  the  parole.  Grant  at  once 
wrote  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  insisting,  in 
the  clearest  and  most  emphatic  terms,  that  all  Confed- 
erate soldiers  embraced  in  the  terms  of  the  convention, 
were  entitled  to  be  protected  from  molestation  to  person 
or  property  in  any  manner,  and  that  the  public  faith  of 
the  United  States  was  pledged  to  this  course  of  action.  * 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


THE    RECORD    OF    SHERMAN'S    DRAGONNADE.       239 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    RECORD    OF    SHERMAN'S    DRAGONNADE. 

r  I  ^HE  introduction  of  the  account  of  the  barbarous 
proceedings  during  the  campaign  from  Atlanta  to 
Goldsboro  is  necessary,  because  to  form  a  proper  esti- 
mate of  the  character  and  career  of  Johnston,  he  must 
be  seen  by  the  light  of  contemporaneous  sentiments  and 
feelings,  and  of  surrounding  circumstances.  His  stature 
can  best  be  measured  by  that  of  his  comrades,  or  his 
adversaries. 

In  the  midst  of  the  most  cruel  and  barbarous  war  that 
has  been  waged  in  Christendom  among  Christians  for 
three  centuries,  he  never  lost  his  poise.  He  was  always 
the  knightly  soldier,  the  Christian  warrior,  and  no  man 
or  woman  or  child  ever  lived  who  could  say  that  John- 
ston cost  them  one  tear.  His  soul  was  as  clear,  his  hands  as 
unstained  as  any  knightly  pilgrim  of  tradition,  or  of  fable. 
Like  Lee,  he  never  for  an  instant  yielded  to  the  clamor 
of  revenge,  of  hate,  and  of  folly,  that  filled  the  air  with 
demands  for  ''retaliation,  no  quarter,  and  the  "black  flag." 
Like  Davis,  his  soul  abhorred  all  cowardly  and  cruel 
measures.  When  a  distinct  retaliation,  for  a  distinct 
crime,  could  have  the  effect  of  preventing  a  repetition  of 
it,  or  when  a  threat  of  retaliation  was  necessary  to  save 
the  commissioned  officers  of  the  army  or  navy  of  the 
Confederacy  from  an  ignominious  death,  Gen.  Johnston 
approved  of  applying  the  remedy  promptly  and  vigor- 


240  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

ously.  But  there  is  not  an  incident  in  his  whole  career 
as  soldier  for  which  his  countrymen,  Federal  or  Con- 
federate, need  now  to  blush. 

Posterity  is  a  relentless  judge.  History  is  an  unerring 
arbiter,  and  the  truth,  the  facts,  have  been  recorded  here, 
so  that  all  the  actors  concerned  in  these  events  may  have 
meted  out  to  them  the  justice  of  the  final  judgment  of 
men;  with  the  other  we  dare  not  meddle. 

But  it  is  right  and  expedient  that  men  should  be  held 
responsible  in  this  world  for  conduct,  so  that  their 
example,  and  their  fate  may  deter  future  generations 
from  imitating  them. 

It  is  believed  that  no  American  general,  suppressing 
future  resistance  to  Government  by  armed  force,  wrill 
ever  instigate  or  countenance  or  permit  such  barbarities 
as  were  perpetrated  during  this  dragonnade  of  these 
States.  Washington  did  not  do  it  in  putting  down  the 
whiskey  insurrection  in  Pennsylvania,  nor  did  Lincoln 
in  dispersing  Shay's  rebellion  in  Massachusetts. 

Says  McMaster:  "Lincoln's  march  from  Boston  to 
Springfield  was  conducted  with  the  greatest  regard  for 
the  feelings  and  property  of  the  inhabitants."* 

Washington's  march,  from  Carlisle  to  Bedford,  and 
thence  to  Parkinson's  Ferry,  was  conducted  with  dis- 
cipline and  humanity.  Their  troops  were  old  soldiers 
of  the  Revolution,  or  soldiers'  sons.  They  never  dreamed 
of  such  a  sentiment,  that  an  invaded  people  should  be 
left  "  only  eyes  to  weep." 

It  is  hoped  that  no  future  American  soldier  will  feel, 
or  utter  such  a  one. 


*  McMaster's  "People  of  the  United  States,"  Vol.  I,  p.  319. 


AFTER    THE    SURRENDER.  24! 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AFTER    THE    SURRENDER. 

the  conference  at  Durham,  Gen.  Johnston  rode 
back  to  Greensboro,  and  proceeded  to  execute  his 
agreement.  Duplicate  muster-rolls  were  prepared, 
signed  by  commanding  officers,  detailed  by  Gen.  Sher- 
man for  the  purpose,  and  paroles  were  executed  by  each 
soldier — private  and  officer. 

A  considerable  amount  of  specie  was  on  the  train 
which  brought  President  Davis  to  Greensboro,  and  was 

O  * 

earned  on  south  with  him.  The  amoun^  was  greatly 
exaggerated,  and  the  ownership  of  it  utterly  misunder- 
stood. 

There  was  in  the  Coniederate  treasury,  belonging  to 
the  Confederate  government,  $327,022.90. 

The  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  in  its  session  of 
January,  1865,  had  passed  a  law  levying  a  tax  in  coin 
on  the  banks  of  the  State,  which  was  in  substance  a 
forced  loan. 

This  coin  thus  collected  was  lodged  in  some  Rich- 
mond banks  as  a  special  deposit  by  the  commonwealth 
of  Virginia.  It  amounted  to  $230,000. 

On  Sunday,  April  2,  when  Richmond  was  being 
evacuated,  Governor  Letcher  sent  an  officer  down,  and 
withdrew  this  special  deposit  of  the  State,  and  sent  it  off 
with  the  cash  of  the  Confederacy. 

Some  bank  officers,  from  whom  the  coin  had  originally 


2^2  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 

been  taken  by  the  State,  went  with  it,  somewhat  on  the 
idea  of  flotsam,  where  in  a  shipwreck,  every  one  is  en- 
titled to  all  he  saves. 

This  $230,000  was  captured  at  Washington,  Georgia, 
and  was  covered  into  the  treasury  of  the  United  States, 
where  it  now  is.  Of  the  Confederate  coin,  $39,000  was 
left  with  Gen.  Johnston,  at  Greensboro,  as  his  military 
chest,  and  was  divided  by  him  to  his  troops,  each  re- 
ceiving $1.15,  without  regard  to  rank — the  only  pay 
most  of  them  had  received  for  a  year.  The  rest  was 
paid  out  to  troops  at  Washington,  Georgia,  by  order  of 
Mr.  Davis,  and  Gen.  Breckenridge,  Secretary  of  War; 
by  M.  H.  Clark,  Esq.,  acting  Treasurer  of  the  Confed- 
erate States.* 

Gen.  Johnston,  therefore,  was  in  error  when 
he  stated,  long  afterward,  that  President  Davis  had  a 
large  amount,  or  any  amount,  of  Confederate  gold  with 
him — just  as  Stanton  was  mistaken  when  he  believed 
that  his  General,  second  in  rank  in  his  army,  was 
capable  of  being  bribed,  and  had  in  fact  been  bribed, 
by  Mr.  Davis,  to  let  him  escape. 

If  anything  is  certain  in  this  world  it  is  that  Davis's 
soul  was  too  great,  and  his  nature  too  lofty  to  be  capable 
of  such  an  idea.  He  would  have  died  in  his  tracks 
before  he  would  have  offered  a  bribe  to  his  enemy  to 
induce  him  betray  his  duty. 

This  may  be  a  strained  sense  of  chivalry,  but  Presi- 
dent Davis  possessed  it,  held  to  it,  lived  on,  and  died 
by  it. 

*  Memoirs  of  Davis,  Vol.  II.  p.  868. 


AFTER    THE     SURRENDER. 


243 


No  power  could  make  him  condone,  ignore,  or  do  a 
foul  thing. 

The  crudest  oiow  that  ever  was  struck  at  himj  was 
the  dastardly  charge  of  Andrew  Johnson  and  Stanton, 
of  complicity  with  the  assassination  of  Lincoln.  As  he 
said  with  keen  bitterness:  "There  is  one  man  in  the 
United  States  who  knows  the  falsity  of  that  charge 
absolutely,  and  that  is  the  man  who  made  it,  for  he 
knows  that  I  greatly  prefer  Lincoln  for  President 
to  him.'''' 


244  LIFE    OF    GEN'    TOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    YEARS    OF    RE-CONSTRUCTION. 

AFTER  Johnston  had  discharged  his  duty  to  his 
soldiers,  by  securing  to  each  one  the  written 
promise  of  Gen.  Sherman  for  protection,  he  started 
them  homeward  under  the  command  of  their  own 
Division  and  Brigade  Generals. 

Sherman  was  moving  North  for  his  grand  review 
at  Washington,  having  left  Schofield  with  his  corps  to 
command  the  Department  of  North  Carolina. 

Schofield  set  the  sxample,  and  every  man  under  him 
behaved  with  the  most  chivalric  courtesy  to  the  heart- 
broken people  they  had  conquered.  He  supplied 
rations  and  transportation  for  the  march  of  the  paroled 
Confederates  returning  home.  Where  railroads  were  in 
operation,  Federal  Quartermasters  gave  them  orders  to 
be  carried  over  the  railroads  to  their  homes  on  the 
nearest  point  by  rail  to  them. 

Thus  Texans,  Arkansians,  and  Missourians  were  sent 
thousands  of  miles  at  the  expense  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment, and  it  may  be  recorded  that  during  the  whole 
year  1865,  from  the  ist  of  May,  when  the  paroles  were 
signed,  peace  and  order,  good-will  and  kind  offices, 
reigned  in  all  the  conquered  States.  As  long  as  the 
soldiers  controlled  things,  everything  went  on  well.  It 
was  only  when  the  politicians  began  to  divide  the 
plunder  of  the  conquest,  and  allot  the  prize  money, 
that  the  ".uffering  was  ten-fold  aggravated. 


THE    YEARS    OF    RE-CONSTRUCTION.  245 

The  surrender  at  Durham's  had  left  Gen.  Johnston 
without  one  cent  in  the  world.  The  scant  savings  of  a 
life  in  the  old  army  had  been  left  in  the  North  and  were 
all  gone.  Mrs.  Johnston  had  a  small  property  from  her 
father's  estate,  which  was  in  the  hands  of  her  family,  in 
California,  or  in  Maryland,  and  that  alone  was  saved 
from  the  wreck.  Gen.  Johnston  made  a  point,  all  his 
life,  to  preserve  his  wife's  property,  for  her  alone — under 
her  entire  control,  free  from  any  interference  by  him  at 
all.  All  he  had  to  do  with  it  was  to  see  that  it  was  safe. 

The  Southern  people  had  nothing  to  offer  him  but 
their  love.  They  gave  that  unstinted.  He  was  made 
president  of  a  railroad  in  Arkansas.  But  that  did  not 
materalize;  and  he  was  chosen  as  president  of  the 
National  Express  Company,  an  enterprise  organized 
under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  to  engage  in  the  business  of 
quick  transportation  of  parcels.  This  was  unsatisfactory, 
and,  in  a  short  time,  he  gave  that  up  and  became  the 
agent  of  the  London,  Liverpool  &  Globe  Insurance  Co., 
and  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Co.,  for  the  Gulf 
States,  with  headquarters  at  Savannah.  He  made  his 
residence  there,  and  pushed  the  business  in  which  he 
was  engaged  wdth  great  energy  and  intelligence.  His 
reputation  aided  in  making  the  enterprise  a  success,  and 
he  lived  for  several  years  in  that  city  which  was  devoted 
to  him  and  his  wife. 

But  Mrs.  Johnston's  health,  which  had  been  failing 
lor  years,  made  a  more  northern  climate  necessary,  and 
besides,  he  wanted  to  get  back  to  his  Mother  Virginia, 
and,  in  1876,  he  removed  to  Richmond. 


7.46  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Virginia  was  just  then  recovering  from  the  throes  of 
the  struggle  for  the  possession  of  her  government,  and 
the  preservation  of  her  civilization. 

The  Richmond  District  had  been  represented 
satisfactorily  in  Congress  for  several  terms  by  Gilbert  C. 
Walker,  a  Northern  man,  who  had  been  elected  by  the 
white  people  of  Virginia  their  first  governor  under  the 
re-constructed  government. 

After  governor  Walker's  term  expired,  he  was 
rewarded  for  the  admirable  manner  in  which  he  had 
performed  his  executive  duties  by  being  chosen  to 
represent  the  Metrooolitan  District  of  Virginia  in 
Congress. 

In  1877,  there  were  several  aspirants  for  his  place, 
but  the  old  soldiers  concluded  that  they  had  the  right  to 
represent  that  district,  and  that  Gen.  Johnston  was  the 
proper  man  to  represent  them. 

Col.  Archer  Anderson,  his  former  chief-of-staff,  was 
selected  to  sound  the  General  as  to  whether  such  a  can- 
didacy would  be  agreeable  to  him.  The  movement 
was  without  his  knowledge,  and  was  absolutely  volun- 
tary, and  in  no  way,  direct  or  indirect,  had  he  any- 
thing to  do  with  it.  Col.  Anderson  reported  as  his 
opinion  that  the  General  would  be  much  gratified  at 
such  a  proof  of  the  love  and  respect  of  Virginians,  as 
a  tender  of  the  nomination  would  be. 

The  next  step  was  to  get  the  ambitious  aspirants  out 
of  the  way,  so  as  to  prevent  all  competition,  and  a  card 
was  drawn  up  requesting  General  Johnston  to  allow  his 
name  to  be  used  as  the  Democratic  candidate  for 


THE    YEARS    OF    RE-CONSTRUCTION.  247 

Congress  from  the  Fourth  Virginia  District.  This  card 
was  presented  to  the  aspirants  first,  for  approval  and 
signature.  They  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  the 
General  would  accept  the  position,  and  they  hastened  to 
sign,  eager  to  have  the  benefit  with  Johnston's  friends  of 
a  cordial  and  prompt  support  of  him. 

To  their  disgust,  he  promptly  accepted,  and  was  put 
in  the  canvass  as  the  Democratic  nominee. 

But  probably  no  man  in  America  was  more  utterly 
unfitted  to  be  a  candidate  for  popular  favor,  at  an 
election  by  universal  suffrage,  than  "Old  Joe,"  as  he 
was  affectionately  known. 

By  nature  a  reserved  man,  except  to  the  few  whom 
he  loved,  fifty  years  of  life  as  a  soldier  in  command,  had 
utterly  unfitted  him  for  the  flexibilities  of  a  canvass 
among  the  people. 

He  had  definite  and  precise  meas  on  the  theory  of 
government  and  the  history  and  construction  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Few  politicians  were 
as  well  or  as  accurately  informed  as  he,  or  had  thought 
out  as  thoroughly  the  answers  to  the  social  and  political 
problems  then  confronting,  or  about  to  confront,  the 
people  of  Virginia. 

He  had  ample  capacity  to  explain  his  views  to  a 
small  audience,  but  the  bustle  and  noise  and  puerility  of 
the  hustings  disgusted  him.  He  tried  to  accommodate 
himself  to  them,  but  gave  it  up. 

Major  Robert  Stiles  and  Captain  Louis  F.  Bossieux, 
of  Richmond,  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  canvass, 
and  never  had  candidate  two  more  intelligent,  zealous, 
energetic,  never-tiring  friends,  that  they  were. 


248  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

The  influenza  of  Greenbackism  had  attacked  the 
district,  and  the  opposing  candidate  was  traversing  the 
counties,  advocating  a  "shower  of  greenbacks,"  which 
ought  to  be  secured  to  the  farmers  and  laboring  people. 

And  the  people  from  the  very  battle-field  where 
Johnston  shed  his  blood  in  their  defence  in  May,  1862, 
were  preparing  to  vote  against  him  for  Congress,  the 
hope  of  cheap  money  being  stronger  than  the  memory 
of  dear  blood. 

A  friend  of  Gen.  Johnston's  was  telegrapned  to  the 
White  Sulphur  to  come  back  at  once,  and  he 
returned  on  the  next  train. 

At  the  committee  rooms  ne.  was  informed  that 
Johnston  would  be  beaten  unless  they  could  raise  some 
money,  and  that  their  resources  were  exhausted. 

They  had  expended  about  a  thousand  dollars  in  the 
canvass,  and  they  believed  success  reasonably  sure,  if 
they  could  raise  another  thousand.  Gen.  Johnston 
knew  absolutely  nothing  about  the  financial  part  of  the 
canvass;  had  paid,  probably,  the  rent  of  the  committee 
room  and  the  pay  of  a  clerk,  but  beyond  that  he  had  no 
idea  that  money  was  necessary,  and  they  were  afraid  to 
broach  the  subject,  for  fear  lest  he  would  throw  up  the 
candidacy,  on  the  idea  that  if  a  seat  in  Congress  was  to 
be  paid  for,  he  would  not  have  it.  The  matter  was  put 
in  the  hands  of  a  friend,  who  wrote  to  another  friend  of 
Gen.  Johnston,  in  Maryland,  explaining  the  situation 
and  asking  for  help.  In  a  couple  of  days  came  the 
answer,  that  nothing  could  be  expected  in  that  quarter. 
Thereupon,  the  gentleman  called  on  Mrs.  Johnston,  and 


THE    YEARS    OF    RE-CONSTRUCTION.  249 

sent  her  word  by  the  servant,  that  there  "was  an  old 
soldier  down  thar'  who  hadn't  had  nothing  to  eat  fur 
three  days.  Could  she  give  him  a  squar'  meal's  vittles?" 
Mrs.  Johnston,  recognizing  the  message  and  the  voice, 
came  down  at  once,  and,  in  a  short  time,  dinner  was 
announced. 

The  General  was  off  on  his  canvass,  and  Mrs.  John- 
ston at  once  began  to  upbraid  her  friend,  who  she  had 
known,  all  through  the  war  and  since,  as  one  of  her 
husband's  dearest  friends,  with  the  undignified  position 
he  had  put  "Johnston,"  as  she  called  him,  in. 

"It's  all  your  fault,"  she  cried,  with  bright  vivacity — 
she  was  one  of  the  most  charming  of  women — "It's  all 
your  fault.  You  got  him  into  this  thing,  and  it's  shame- 
ful, a  man  of  his  age  and  reputation,  going  round  to 
your  cross  roads,  like  a  common  member  of  Congress. 
I  do  hope  he'll  be  beat.  That'll  serve  you  all  right." 

"  Well,  Mrs.  Johnston,"  said  her  visitor,  "  you  will 
certainly  be  gratified,  for  the  General  is  beat  now!  " 

"  What's  that  you  say?"  said  she,  "if  he's  beat  it  will 
be  simply  disgraceful,  and  shameful!  It  will  kill  him. 
He  shan't  be  beat;  you  must  not  allow  it.  I  will  not 
permit  it!" 

"Well,"  said  the  other,  "he  certainly  will  be  beat, 
unless  we  can  raise  a  thousand  dollars,  and  everybody 
is  afraid  to  mention  it  to  the  old  General ;  and,  as  you 
are  the  only  person  we  know  who  ain't  afraid  of  him, 
I've  come  to  explain  the  situation  to  you! " 

"Oh,  that's  it,  is  it?"  said  she,  "I'll  see  you  get  the 
money  in  the  morning." 


250  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Bright  and  early  next  morning,  she  drove  down  in  her 
carriage  to  the  committee  room,  called  Styles  out,  and 
gave  him  two  $1,000  railroad  bonds,  worth  $Soo  each, 
and  told  him  to  call  on  her  for  whatever  was  necessary. 

Her  example  so  inspired  the  General's  friends  that 
they  raised  the  necessary  funds,  and  triumphantly 
elected  him;  and,  after  the  election,  Major  Styles 
returned  Mrs.  Johnston's  bonds  to  her,  and  it  is  not 
believed  that  the  General  ever  knew  of  the  incident  at 
all. 

In  Congress  he  was  placed  on  the  Military  Committee, 
and  there  his  word  was  law,  on  all  questions  relating  to 
the  equipment  of,  and  expenditure  for,  the  army. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  was  not  a  candidate 
for  re-electionf  for  he  would  have  encountered  opposition 
for  the  nomination,  and  his  friends  did  not  think  it  just, 
to  him,  that  he  should  be  required  to  enter  into  a  struggle 
for  that  which,  it  ought  to  have  been,  the  highest  honor 
the  people  of  his  district  could  confer  on  themselves. 

He  had  a  house  in  Washington,  though  he  maintained 
his  residence  in  Richmond,  and  he  died  a  registered 
voter  in  the  district  he  had  defended  in  war  and  honored 
in  peace. 

He  was  appointed,  by  President  Cleveland,  one  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Railroads  of  the  United  States,  the 
duties  of  which  place  he  performed  with  the  energy, 
zeal  and  intelligence  always  exercised  by  him  in  the 
execution  of  duty. 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON.  251 


T 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON. 

HE  two  men  in  the  Confederacy,  whose  perfect 
accord  and  implicit  confidence  in  each  other  were 
fmost  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  new  government, 
were  the  two  men  who,  from  the  first,  were  perfectly 
and  entirely  estranged  and  separated. 

This  was  a  misfortune  to  their  country,  and  to  their 
own  reputations,  the  consequences  of  which  were  far 
reaching  and  disastrous. 

They  were  remarkably  alike  in  mind  and  in  character, 
in  temperament  and  in  sentiment.  Each  was  the  son 
of  a  Revolutionary  soldier;  each  had  imbibed,  at  his 
mother's  knee,  and  from  his  father's  daily  life,  traditions 
of  patriotic  self-sacrifice,  and  fearless  devotion  to  duty. 
Each  had  the  nighest  ideal  of  liberty,  and  of  country. 
Each  the  most  sentimental  and  tender  devotion  to  family 
and  to  friends.  Each  was  a  consistent  Christian,  be- 
lieving absolutely  and  implicitly  in  the  goodness  of  God, 
and  in  his  superintending  love  for  all  his  children.  Each 
loved  his  family,  and  his  friends,  with  an  intensity  that 
brooked  no  doubt  and  tolerated  not  criticism. 

President  Davis  had  been  educated  as  a  soldier.  He 
had  had  a  long  experience  on  the  frontier;  that  training 
school  for  fortitude,  endurance,  courage  and  fidelity. 

After  leaving  the  army  his  mind  had  been  matured 
by  long  and  patient  study  of  political  problems  and 


252  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

military  history,  improved  by  daily  discussion  with  his 
companion,  his  elder  brother,  one  of  the  ablest  men  of 
his  day,  as  he  was  one  of  the  best-informed.  After  an 
experience  in  political  discussion  as  Member  of  Congress, 
he  had  given  up  his  seat  to  take  command  of  the  First 
Mississippi  Regiment,  a  body  of  volunteers  of  the  young 
gentlemen  of  his  State. 

With  it  he  performed  such  distinguished  service  as 
fell  to  the  good  fortune  of  no  other  Colonel  during  the 
Mexican  War,  and  he  came  back  thoroughly  impressed 
with  the  capacity  of  the  American  volunteer  to  make 
the  best  soldier. 

Afterwards,  his  service  as  Secretary  of  War,  and 
chairman  of  the  Military  Committee  of  the  Senate,  had 
given  him  large  experience  in  the  administration  of  the 
army,  and  a  wide  view  of  the  strategy  of  a  war  in 
America. 

He  became  Secretary  of  War  in  March,  1853,  con- 
tinued in  charge  of  that  Department  until  1857,  then 
returned  to  the  Senate,  where  he  was  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  until  he  resigned  his 
place,  in  1861,  to  take  command  of  the  Army  of  Mis- 
sissippi. During  that  ten  years  his  mind  had  been 
turning  over  the  contingency  of  a  war  between  the 
States. 

He  certainly  deprecated  a  separation,  and  only 
acquiesced  in  it,  as  a  choice  of  evils.  But  he  was 
convinced  always,  that  a  great  war  would  be  the  conse- 
quence of  the  action  of  the  Southern  States. 

When,  therefore,  the  contingency  actually  happened, 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON.  253 

Mr.  Davis,  a  soldier  by  training,  by  taste,  and  by  tem- 
perament, was  thoroughly  prepared,  by  long  study  and 
investigation,  for  the  proper  steps  to  be  taken.  In  his 
own  mind  he  had  matured  the  policy  of  a  war  of 
defence,  and  the  strategy  by  which  it  was  to  be  con- 
ducted to  a  successful  issue. 

He  considered  himself  more  competent  for  military 
command  than  for  civil  administration,  and  his  election 
as  President  of  the  Confederate  States  was  a  disap- 
pointment to  him.  He  hoped,  and  preferred,  to  have 
been  made  Commander-in-chief  of  the  army  in  the 
field.  He  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  traditions 
and  feelings  of  the  old  army,  which  he  believed  were 
based  on  the  soundest  reason. 

A  fundamental  principle  iif  military  organization  is 
that  staff  officers  cannot  command  troops,  unless  specially 
assigned  to  that  duty.  And  in  addition  to  that  the 
Quartermaster-General  of  the  Army  of  the  United 
States  was  prohibited  by  law  from  commanding  troops.* 

Gen.  Johnston,  with  the  same  preliminary  education 
and  training  as  President  Davis,  had  been  serving  for 
thirty  years  in  the  regular  service  of  a  regular  army. 
That  service  had  been  in  every  field,  and  his  experi- 
ence was  wide  and  great,  but  it  was  the  experience  of  a 
soldier.  Now  no  man  with  a  special  training,  and 
extended  service,  in  one  line  of  conduct,  can  regard 
another  who  has  only  occasionally  and  temporarily 
devoted  himself  to  similar  pursuits,  as  equal  in  equip- 
ment to  himself.  Every  regular  looks  at  least  with 

'Memoirs  of  Jefferson  Davis,  Vol.  II,  p.  150. 


254  LIFE    OF    GEN-    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

amusement  on  the  amateur,  whether  it  be  in  theatricals 
or  on  a  military  parade. 

When,  therefore,  President  Davis  first  met  Gen. 
Johnston  in  discussion  about  the  conduct  of  the  war  at 
Montgomery,  Alabama,  early  in  1861,  Johnston,  I  doubt 
not,  received  his  mature  suggestion  without  cordiality, 
and  heard  his  opinion  as  to  the  strategy  of  the  war 
with  expressed  dissent. 

Mr.  Davis  had  been  studying  the  problem  for  years. 
He  was  a  widely-read,  vigorous  thinker,  and  he  was,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  quite  as  well  equipped  on  matters  of  the 
theory  of  the  war  as  any  man  living.  But  right  here  he 
and  Johnston  collided.  Johnston  disagreed  with  him 
absolutely  and  without  qualification.  Mr.  Davis  knew, 
for  he  had  read  history,  that  a  slave  population  was 
utterly  unreliable  in  war.  He  believed,  as  turned  out 
the  fact,  that  the  Southern  slaves  would  be  obedient, 
faithful,  and  tractable;  but  he  also  knew  that  the  supe- 
rior force  of  the  Master  once  removed  from  them,  they 
would  become  worthless  as  a  producing  machine.  The 
experience  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution  proved  this,  as 
shown  in  Johnson's  Life  of  Greene;  and  Mr.  Davis  was 
convinced  that  the  protection  of  Southern  territory  from 
contact  with  the  enemy  was  the  only  way  to  preserve 
social  institutions,  as  well  as  the  industrial  organization 
of  the  South. 

His  large  mind  had  matured  the  plan  01  defence,  and 
had  worked  out  many  details  for  the  orotection  of  the 
Southern  territory. 

He    oroposed    to    hold   the    seaboard*  with    garrisons 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON.  255 

at  its  ports,  and  to  protect  a  line  from  the  Chesapeake 
along  the  Potomac,  through  the  mountains  of  Western 
Virginia,  and  make  the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri  the  fron- 
tiers, to  be  covered  by  armies  placed  within  supporting 
distance. 

Johnston  repudiated  the  whole  plan.  He  pointed  out 
that  by  trying  to  protect  a  frontier  three  thousand  miles 
long,  your  adversary  was  permitted  to  select  the  point 
for  attack,  to  concentrate  on  it,  and  to  break  it  when  he 
pleased. 

The  proper  policy,  he  said,  was  to  have  no  fortified 
positions  and  no  lines  of  defence — to  concentrate  armies 
at  points  best  adapted  for  subsistence,  and  prompt  com- 
munication, and  when  the  enemy  advanced  into  your 
country,  having  the  interior  lines,  to  concentrate  on  him 
an  overwhelming  force,  and  crush  him.  Then,  said  he, 
you  will  recover  all  you  have  lost.  "But,"  replied  the 
President,  "wherever  a  Federal  army  marches  through 
the  South,  it  will  leave  destruction  and  disorganization 
in  its  wake.  You  may  drive  it  back,  but  you  cannot 
restore  the  destruction  it  has  caused — not  the  destruction 
of  property,  but  the  destruction  of  social  order.  The 
negroes,  who  do  not  go  off,  will  remain  utterly  useless." 

This  discussion,  between  the  statesman  and  the  sol- 
dier, could  have  no  end,  because  there  was  no  maxim 
common  to  both,  no  axiom  on  which  they  agreed.  And 
the  difference  was  ineradicable. 

When,  therefore,  President  Davis  came  to  arrange 
the  rank  of  the  superior  officers,  provided  for  the  act  of 
the  Confederate  Congress,  he  was  unwilling  to  put  in 


256  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

command  of  the  Confederate  army  a  man  who  enter- 
tained such  radically  divergent  views  from  his  own. 
Ignoring  Johnston's  staff  and  rank  as  Brigadier  Quarter- 
master-General, in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  he 
construed  the  statutory  promise  of  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress to  mean,  that  officers  joining  their  army  from  that 
of  the  United  States,  should  retain  their  relative  positions 
and  should  be  commissioned  with  the  relative  rank  in 
thi-  line  of  the  army  from  which  they  came,  ignoring  the 
fact  that  staff  rank  was  rank,  as  much  as  line  rank. 

And  the  Act  of  Congress  did  not  say,  "relative  line 
rank,"  it  said  relative  rank — nothing  more,  nothing  less. 

And  Johnston  had  the  right  to  complain,  and  he  did 
complain,  and  to  feel  as  he  did  feel,  that  he,  the  rank- 
ing officer  in  the  United  States  Army,  who  had  cast  his 
fortunes  in  the  Confederacy,  should  have  been  made 
fourth  in  rank  instead  of  first  in  rank. 

Mr.  Davis  says:  "General  Johnston  does  not  re- 
member that  he  did  not  leave  the  Army  of  the  United 
States  to  enter  the  Army  of  the  Confederate  States, 
but  to  enter  the  army  of  Virginia,  and  that  Lee  ranked 
him  in  that  Army."* 

That  is  surely  no  reason  that  a  soldier  should  first 
have  offered  his  sword  to  his  native  State,  who  was 
standing  by  herself,  before  she  entered  the  Confederacy. 
It  can  be  no  disqualification  in  a  movement  organized  on 
the  principle  of  the  sovereignty  of  States,  and  that  the 
Federal  Government  was  the  creature  of  the  States,  and 
that  its  army  was  subordinate  to,  and  subject  to  the 
armies  of  the  States. 


'Memoirs  of  Jefferson  Davis,  Vol.  II,  p.  150. 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON. 

President  Davis  entered  first  the  military  service  of 
Mississippi,  and  no  one  ever  thought  that  such  action, 
in  any  way,  operated  as  disqualification  of  him  in 
patriotism,  or  in  wisdom.  This  arrangement  of  rank 
Gen.  Johnston  felt  as  keenly  as  a  blow,  and  resented  it 
as  such.  If  staff  rank  was  ignored,  Col.  Cooper, 
Adjutant-General  of  the  United  States  Army,  had  no 
other  rank  than  staff  rank,  and  yet  he  was  made  the 
ranking  General.  This  difference  of  opinion,  and  this 
affront,  was  the  source  and  cause  of  all  future  trouble. 
Johnston  urged  the  concentration  of  troops  with  Bragg 
in  Tennessee  in  1863,  and  that  he  attack  Grant  in 
detail  in  Northern  Mississippi.  He  remonstrated 
against  Bragg's  raid  into  Kentucky.  He  insisted  that 
Holmes  be  ordered  to  report  to  him  from  Arkansas ;  and 
his  remonstrance  and  applications  were  neither  dignified 
nor  subordinate  in  tone  or  style.  As  was  natural,  they 
were  ignored  or  directly  refused. 

Thus  things  went  on  from  bad  to  worse,  until  the 
Dalton-Atlanta  campaign,  when  President  Davis  insisted 
that  Gen.  Johnston  should  report  to  him  his  plan  of 
campaign  and  inform  him  categorically,  if  he  intended 
to  fight  at  all,  and  if  so,  when  and  where.  This  inter- 
meddling with  his  prerogative,  as  Johnston  considered  it, 
was  resented  by  him,  and  the  consequence  was  his 
removal,  Hood's  fiasco  in  Tennessee,  the  direct  conse- 
quence of  President  Davis's  strategy,  and  Sherman's 
maraud  through  three  States,  and  the  speedy  fall  of  the 
Confederacy. 

Jefferson   Davis,   as  time  goes  on,  ana  the  dust  and 


LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

smoke  of  contemporary  conflict  clears  off,  will  be 
esteemed  one  of  the  great  men  of  history.  His  per- 
sonal characteristics  were  not  those  generally  possessed 
by  the  successful  men  of  affairs.  They,  as  Mr.  Seward 
once  ingenuously  said,  in  private  conversation  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Davis,  when  he  was  Secretary  of  War  in 
Pierce's  cabinet,  consider  success  the  first  duty.  When 
truth  will  serve  that,  then  they  use  truth;  if  not,  then 
they  use  something  else  and  reserve  truth  for  another 
occasion.  The  fiber  of  Mr.  Davis'  mind  was  such  that 
he  could  not  understand  such  an  intellectual  proposition. 
His  brain  worked  like  a  perfect  mechanism — given  cer- 
tain premises — certain  results  must  follow.  He  couldn't 
think  superficially  or  falsely,  nor  could  he  sympathize 
with  wrong  or  injustice.  His  heart  was  as  large  and  as 
true  as  his  brain.  No  man  ever  loved  his  wife,  his 
children,  his  friends,  his  country,  with  a  more  intense 
affection  and  perfect  devotion.  Not  a  friend  of  his  early 
youth,  not  one  of  his  young  manhood  on  the  frontier, 
that  he  did  not  retain  in  his  inmost  heart. 

After  the  war  an  old  soldier  of  his  cavalry  command, 
in  the  Black  Hawk  War,  wrote  him  from  Texas,  recall- 
ing the  noble  and  generous  care  of  Lieutenant  Davis  for 
a  soldier  in  the  ranks  who  was  ill  unto  death,  and  whose 
life  was  saved  by  the  firmness,  and  thoughtfulness,  and 
kindheartedness,  of  his  commanding  officer,  the  ex-Pres- 
ident. His  intellect  was  as  vigorous  and  as  broad  as 
his  heart  was  great.  His  bearing  was  graceful,  alert 
and  dignified,  and  his  voice  the  most  silvery,  as  well  as 
far-reaching,  that  ever  has  been  heard  in  modern  times. 


DAVIS    AND   JOHNSTON.  25-5^ 

No  one  who  saw  it  will  ever  forget  the  scene  at  the 
great  memorial  meeting  of  the  survivors  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  held  at  Richmond,  on  November  3, 
1870,  when  President  Davis  was  brought  forward  to 
preside.  Few  had  seen  him  since  his  incarceration  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  when  he  had  been  made  the  vicarious 
sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  Southern  people. 

Before  him  were  the  heroes  of  a  hundred  battles — men 
who  had  faced  death  and  plucked  victory  from  the  very 
front  of  danger  a  thousand  times,  speechless  in  emotion 
at  the  sight  of  their  chieftain,  whom  they  loved  for  the 
sufferings  he  had  undergone  for  their  sakes.  As  Davis 
came  forward  on  that  platform,  such  a  tense  cry  of 
human  passion,  and  sympathy,  and  grief,  and  love,  went 
up  as  was  never  heard  in  this  world.  He  stood  for  a 
minute,  his  figure  straightening  and  quivering  with  feel- 
ing, and  began  in  a  low  voice,  of  such  exquisitely  silver 
tones  that  it  thrilled  the  utmost  verge  of  the  great  audience, 
"soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Confederacy,  countrymen 
and  friends." 

Assembled  on  this  sad  occasion,  with  hearts  oppressed 
with  the  grief  that  follows  the  loss  of  him  who  was  our 
leader,  on  many  a  bloody  battlefield,  there  is  a  melan- 
choly pleasure  in  the  spectacle  which  is  presented. 
Hitherto  men  have  been  honored  when  successful;  but 
here  is  the  case  of  one  who,  amidst  disaster,  went  down 
to  his  grave,  and  those  who  were  his  companions  in 
misfortune,  have  assembled  to  honor  his  memory.  It  is 
as  much  an  honor  to  you  who  give,  as  to  him  who  re- 
ceives, for,  above  the  vulgar  test,  you  show  yourselves 


260  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

competent  to  judge  between  him  who  enjoys  and  him 
who  deserves  success. 

Robert  E.  Lee  was  my  associate  and  friend  in  the 
military  academy,  and  we  were  friends  until  the  hour 
of  his  death.  '  Here  he  sleeps  now  in  the  land  he 

loved  so  well,  and  that  land  is  not  Virginia  only,  for 
they  do  injustice  to  Lee  who  believe  he  fought  only  for 
Virginia. 

He  was  ready  to  go  anywhere,  on  any  service,  for  the 
good  of  his  country,  and  his  heart  was  as  broad  as  the 
fifteen  States  struggling  for  the  principle  that  our  fore- 
fathers fought  for  in  the  Revolution  of  1776. 

He  sleeps  with  the  thousands  who  fought  under  the 
same  flag,  and  happiest  they  who  first  offered  up 
their  lives;  he  sleeps  in  the  soil  to  him  and  to  them 
most  dear.  T*hat  flag  was  furled  when  there  was  none 
to  hear  it;  around  it  we  are  assembled,  a  remnant  of 
the  living,  to  do  honor  to  his  memory,  and  there  is  an 
army  of  skeleton  sentinels  to  keep  watch  above  his 
grave.  This  good  citizen,  this  gallant  soldier,  this 
great  general,  this  true  patriot,  had  yet  a  higher  praise 
than  this — he  was  a  true  Christian.  The  Christianity 
which  ennobled  his  life  gives  us  the  consolatory  belief 
that  he  is  happy  beyond  the  grave." 

As  the  voice  of  the  orator  rose  and  fell  like  the  vibra- 
tions of  a  bell,  of  perfect  modulation,  it  sounded  like  a 
dirge  for  the  glorious  dead  and  an  invocation  to  the 
faithful  living. 

Such  an  orator,  on  such  an  occasion,  with  such  an 
audience,  has  never  before  been  seen  by  men,  and 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON.  261 

President  Davis's  words  go  sounding  down  the  years, 
with  the  ring  of  prophecy  and  the  power  of  doom. 
Ten  generations  from  now  they  will  be  quoted  to  show 
what  manner  of  man  Davis  was,  with  whom  he  lived, 
and  whom  he  led. 

The  soul  of  honor,  the  mirror  of  chivalry,  the 
embodiment  of  generous  friendship;  patriot,  sage,  sol- 
dier, lover,  father,  he  will  furnish  the  model  to  future 
American  citizens,  of  noble  conduct,  and  high  aspira- 
tions, of  fortitude  and  courage,  which  will  form  char- 
acter, as  long  as  justice  is  cherished,  and  right  believed 
to  be  desirable,  wherever  liberty  is  maintained,  or 
sought  for,  and  heroic  endeavor  is  imitated. 

Gen.  Johnston  was  as  intense  a  man  as  President 
Davis. 

His  letter,  quoted  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  memoir, 
his  fiery  remonstrance  at  the  indignity  put  upon  him 
in  the  matter  of  rank,  gives  the  keynote  of  his  life, 
and  the  clue  to  his  feelings.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  who  had  fought  for  Virginia. 
He  had  been  reared  among  the  very  men  who  fought  at 
King's  Mountain,  and  there  was  not  an  incident  of 
the  Southern  struggle  for  independence  that  was  not 
burnt  into  his  boyish  heart,  by  recital  around  the  fire- 
side. He  knew  how  the  Tories  wore  green  pine  twigs 
in  their  hats,  and  how  the  Whigs  wore  a  tuft  of  white 
cotton  or  cotton  cloth. 

The  sword  with  which  Ensign  Peter  Johnston  cleared 
the  way  at  Wright's  Bluff  had  been  delivered  to  his 
hand.  It  should  be  devoted  to  the  defence  of  his 


262  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Mother  Virginia.  Johnston  was  intensely  clannish. 
The  ties  of  blood  bound  him  tight.  Kinship  created 
solemn  obligations.  He  was  the  Virginian  of  the  Vir- 
ginians. And,  while  he  loved  Lee,  with  a  faithful  and 
loyal  friendship,  he  always  felt  hurt  that  Virginia  should 
have  apotheosized  him,  and  given  Johnston  a  sec- 
ondary place  in  her  heart. 

This  was  one  of  the  grievances  he  felt  against  Mr. 
Davis.  He  had  separated  him  from  Virginia,  and  sent 
him  away  from  his  blood  and  kin.  Johnston  had  a 
heart  as  tender  as  a  child.  He  loved  children.  He 
loved  young  people.  He  loved  those  who  loved  him. 

In  October,  1861,  on  the  line  at  Mumson's  and  Mason's 
Hill,  below  Fairfax  court-house,  one  day  he  found  the 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  First  Maryland  regiment 
riding  along  the  picket  line  with  his  little  son,  a  lad  of 
five  and  a  half  years,  on  his  pony  by  his  side,  and 
highly  diverted  with  the  singing  of  an  occasional  bullet 
which  would  fly  from  the  opposite  picket.  For  thirty 
years  Gen.  Johnston  remembered  that  incident,  and 
would  refer  to  it  with  glee,  and  the  very  summer  before 
his  death  found  much  pleasure  in  the  six-year-old  son 
of  his  young  cavalryman  of  Mumson's  Hill.  His  heart 
yearned  for  affection.  The  devotion  between  his  wife 
and  himself  was  an  idyl. 

She  was  the  grand-daughter  of  Capt.  Allan  McLane, 
of  Delaware,  who,  with  his  troop  of  dragoons,  patrolled 
and  picketed  the  roads  around  Valley  Forge,  in  the 
winter  of  1777,  side  by  side  with  Harry  Lee,  of  Virginia. 
Her  father,  Louis  McLane,  had  filled  and  ornamented 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON.  263 

the  highest  civil  stations  in  the  government,  except  the 
very  highest.  Twice  minister  to  England,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  of  State,  of  the  United  States,  Repre- 
sentative and  Senator  in  Congress,  his  daughter  had 
graced  the  most  elegant  society  in  America  and  in  Eng- 
land. She  was  witty,  graceful,  charming,  fascinating, 
and,  without  being  a  raving  beauty,  was  altogether  one 
of  the  most  delightful  women  of  her  day.  Her  husband 
thought  her  the  loveliest,  most  agreeable  person  that 
ever  lived,  and  she  worshiped  him  as  her  knight  and 
hero. 

To  the  day  of  her  death,  their  devotion  to  each  other 
knew  no  change,  nor  experienced  any  moderation. 

He  buried  her  where  he  could  be  secure  of  a  place  by 
her  side,  and  prepared  his  own  resting  place  there,  at 
the  same  time  he  arranged  hers.  Mrs.  Johnston's  bad- 
inage about  "Johnston,"  as  she  generally  spoke  of  him, 
and  sometimes  "Joe,"  was  delightful.  Warm  hearted, 
impulsive,  generous,  of  course  she  took  up  his  quarrels 
in  the  army,  and  sometimes  high  discord  reigned  in  the 
higher  circles.  The  General  had  a  great  respect  for 
her  intellect,  and  for  her  character,  as  well  as  the  warmest 
admiration  for  her  person,  and  altogether,  when  he  was 
eighty  years  old,  he  furnished  the  model  for  a  courtly 
and  ardent  lover. 

His  mind  was  as  well  cultivated  and  trained  as  that 
of  any  soldier  who  ever  lived,  and  as  well  stored  with 
the  history  of  men,  of  nations,  and  of  wars.  It  was  re- 
markably vigorous  and  penetrating,  and  he  could  put 
the  most  complex  proposition,  whether  of  affairs  or  of 


264  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

ideas,  in  such  a  lucid  order,  and  clear  arrangement,  as  to 
render  it  caoable  of  being  easily  grasped  by  an  ordinary 
intellect. 

He  was  master  of  a  peculiarly  strong,  terse,  Saxon 
English.  When  he  was  at  Centre ville,  in  the  winter 
of  1862,  the  style  of  the  address  and  of  the  orders 
about  re-enlistment  was  so  very  forcible  that  many  had 
the  notion  that  they  came  from  the  pen  of  Beverly 
Johnston,  Esq.,  the  General's  elder  brother,  who  was 
his  guest  at  headquarters  a  part  of  the  time. 

Beverly  Johnston  was  a  lawyer,  and  a  scholar  of 
English  literature,  of  rare  accomplishments  and  acquire- 
ments, but  it  is  certain  that  the  papers  in  question  were 
written  by  the  General  himself.  When  he  took  com- 
mand at  Harper's  Ferry  in  May,  1861,  he  was  just  a 
little  over  fifty-four  years  of  age,  with  dark  hair,  and 
not  a  strand  of  gray  in  it;  with  gray  eyes,  a  clean, 
clear  complexion,  short  side-whiskers,  and  a  close  cut 
moustache;  about  five  feet  eight  inches  high,  and 
weighing  probably  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounds. 
His  form  was  perfect — a  mixture  of  strength,  activity, 
grace,  dignity  and  force,  altogether  unusual.  If  Gen. 
Johnston  had  entered  an  assemblage  in  London,  Paris, 
Berlin,  or  any  other  European  capital,  of  the  elite  of 
that  society,  he  would  have  at  once  attracted  attention 
from  his  mien  and  bearing. 

Lee  was  reposeful  and  dignified;  Davis  was  grace- 
ful and  dignified;  Johnston  was  forceful  and  dignified. 

As  full  of  repose  as  Lee,  as  full  of  grace  as  Davis, 
with  it  all  he  produced  the  impression  of  vigor,  of 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON. 

force,  of  weight.  He  was  a  large  man,  and  in  regard- 
ing him  one  lost  all  power  of  comparison  and  con- 
ception of  stature.  The  man  was  a  master;  a  noble 
character,  a  great  will,  a  large  nature,  was  before  the 
observer,  and  he  was  unable  to  compare  him  with 
others. 

I  called  with  him  on  Grant  in  Washington  in  March, 
1866,  at  army  headquarters,  to  claim  the  protection  of 
the  parole  under  the  Durham  Convention.  Gen.  Grant, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation  wrote  the  proper  letter  to 
the  President,  and  as  Johnston  rose  to  leave,  Grant 
rose,  too,  and  said:  "General,  permit  me  to  present 
my  staff  to  you,"  and,  touching  a  bell,  the  orderly 
ushered  in  a  procession  of  general  officers,  who,  hearing 
that  Johnston  was  in  the  building,  had  collected  in  the 
ante-room  to  pay  their  respects  to  him.  Gen.  Grant 
stood  on  Gen.  Johnston's  right  hand,  and  as  each  gentle- 
man came  up,  presented  him  to  Johnston. 

The  scene  was  a  curious  and  interesting  one,  but  the 
most  impressive  part  to  the  Confederate  was  the  manner 
in  which  Johnston  bore  himself — the  dignity,  the  grace, 
the  grave  friendliness,  with  which  he  received  this  superb 
overture  of  respect.  He  seemed  to  tower  above  the  crowd, 
although  he  was  hardly  of  the  average  height,  and  I 
believe  every  man  present  that  day  left  deeply  impressed 
that  he  had  met  a  very  great  man. 

Johnston  never  doubted  that  the  Confederacy  ought 
to  have  succeeded,  that  the  men  and  resources  were 
ample.  The  interior  lines  for  concentration  and  supply, 
in  his  opinion  largely,  if  not  quite,  equalized  the  prepon- 


Z66  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

derance  of  force  on  the  Federal  side.  He  said  that 
there  were  three  distinct  periods  when  the  Confederacy 
could  and  ought  to  have  succeeded.  The  first  was  when 
he  had  drawn  McClellan  from  deep-water  to  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  in  the  spring  of  1862. 

Then  he  said  the  garrisons  of  Wilmington,  Charleston, 
Savannah  and  Mobile,  with  Jackson's  Army  of  the 
Valley,  ought  to  have  been  concentrated  at  Richmond, 
and  McClellan's  army  would  have  been  destroyed  and 
peace  conquered. ' 

The  next  opportunity  was  when  Grant  was  in 
Northern  Mississippi  in  1863,  with  his  army  scattered 
along  the  railroad  from  Cairo  to  Corinth. 

Johnston  again  urged  that  Bragg's  Army  of  Tennessee 
should  be  reinforced  with  the  garrisons  from  the  ports,  and 
he  should  then  destroy  Grant  in  detail.  This  was  not 
done. 

The  third  lost  opportunity  was  when  Grant  crossed 
the  Mississippi,  at'Bruinsburgh,  in  May,  1863,  and 
Johnston  was  ordered  to  command  the  Department  of 
the  Mississippi.  He  then  insisted  that  Holmes'  55,000, 
whom  he  had  at  Little  Rock,  should  be  consolidated 
with  him,  and  he  thus  be  enabled  to  capture  Grant's  army. 
This  also  was  refused.  Johnston  remained  of  the  opinion 
that  either  of  these  three  movements  were  sound  on  mil- 
itary principles,  and  would  have  proved  successful.  In 
the  light  of  subsequent  events,  it  seems  as  if  he  was 
right. 

Time  will  enlarge  Jonnston's  reputation.  If  there  is 
such  a  thing  as  ill-fortune,  he  had  more  than  his  share 


of  it.  He  never  had  the  chance  that  Lee  had.  If  he 
had  not  been  wounded  at  Seven  Pines,  a  great  victory 
would  have  crowned  his  arms  with  substantial  results. 
If  he  had  not  been  betrayed  at  Jackson,  he  would  have 
joined  with  Pemberton  and  have  captured  Grant's  army. 
If  he  had  not  been  removed  at  Atlanta,  he  would  almost 
certainly  have  defeated  Sherman,  and  then  would  have 
ensued  another  Moscow  retreat.  But  it  is  bootless  to 
conjecture  contingencies  that  never  occurred.  Johnston's 
campaigns  will  be  judged  by  the  canons  of  military 
criticism,  and  the  highest  authorities  to-day  of  the  mili- 
tary art  consider  them  models  for  study  and  imitation. 
His  movement  from  Yorktown  to  the  Chickahominy,  be- 
yond doubt,  was  masterly.  He  fixed  himself  close  to 
his  own  base,  and  made  his  enemy  leave  his  behind,  and 
expose  it  to  destruction,  as  was  subsequently  done  by 
Stuart  in  June.  But  Johnston's  reputation  will  rest  on 
the  Dal  ton- Atlanta  campaign.  That  retreat  has  no  par- 
allel in  military  history.  Fighting  and  falling  back, 
falling  back  and  fighting,  Johnston  inflicted  on  his 
enemy  a  loss  equal  to  his  entire  force;  he  himself  losing 
not  one-fifth  as  many  as  his  adversary — and  so  skilfully 
was  this  done  that  when  the  time  came  to  strike  the  final 
blow,  at  Atlanta,  his  people  were  on  the  qui  vive  for  it. 
Johnston  knew  what  his  adversary  was  going  to  do  and 
when  he  was  going  to  do  it.  He  knew  that  Thomas 
was  going  to  cross  Peach  Tree  Creek,  three  miles  or 
more  apart  from  the  other  corps,  and  he  had  made  his 
dispositions  to  strike  him,  while  extended  in  crossing  the 
ford.  But  the  order  relieving  him  took  all  the  spirit  out 


268 


LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPJi    li.  JOHNSTON. 


of  the  men,  and  while  they  were  led  as  gallantly  and 
handled  as  promptly  as  men  could  be  put  into  a  fight, 
by  Hood,  they  had  lost  that  elan,  that  morale,  which  is 
so  large  a  part  of  the  soldiers'  force  in  battle,  and  they 
failed. 

These  were  the  misfortunes  of  a  great  heart.  They 
will  be  repaired  to  him  by  posterity,  for  in  the  grand 
cortege  of  great  generals,  furnished  by  both  sides  in  the 
war  between  the  States,  Johnston  will  be  in  the  first  rank 
among  the  very  first. 

His  faults  were  all  human  faults.  He  was  quick- 
tempered and  imperious,  ^ut  he  was  great-hearted, 
chivalric,  generous,  loving,  tender,  and  as  true  a  man  as 
ever  carried  cross,  or  drew  sword.  In  subsequent  chap- 
ters will  be  found  the  loving  tributes  of  Major-General 
Dabney  H.  Maury,  of  Col.  Archer  Anderson,  and  of 
Major  Robert  Stiles. 

After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Johnston,  which  occurred  in 
1888,  he  lived  at  his  house  on  Vermont  avenue,  Wash- 
ington, with  his  friends  around  him,  but  he  always 
remained  a  citizen  of  Virginia,  and  died  a  registered 
voter  of  the  City  of  Richmond. 

He  always  went  home  and  voted.  The  McLanes, 
his  wife's  brothers,  and  nieces,  and  nephews,  were  as  ten 
derly  devoted  and  attentive  to  him  as  love  can  be. 
With  him  he  had  Joseph  Wheeler,  his  chief-of-cavalry 
in  Georgia,  the  chevalier  sans  pcur  ct  sans  reproclie,  a 
greater  terror  to  Sherman's  bummers  than  the  Black 
Douglas  ever  was  to  Saxon  invader.  Wade  Hampton, 
cavalier  of  cavaliers,  who  brought  "the  gentlemen  of 


DAVIS    AND    JOHNSTON. 

the  legion"  to  back  Bee's  faltering  lines  at  First 
Manassas,  and  who  rode  with  him  to  the  conference  at 
Bennett's  house  with  Sherman — the  first  a  representa- 
tive from  Alabama,  the  latter  a  Senator  from  South 
Carolina,  Major-General  Dabney  H.  Maury,  wrho  held 
Mobile  against  Farragut  until  there  was  nothing  left  to 
hold,  Major-General  Cadmus  Wilcox,  trusty  and  true 
as  his  own  blade — these  knights  sat  at  the  Round  Table, 
giving  the  love  of  their  hearts  to  as  manly  a  Virginian, 
as  true  a  gentleman,  as  gallant  a  soldier,  and  as  able  a 
general  as  America  has  ever  reared. 

This  large  heart,  this  great  intellect,  this  broad  patri- 
otism, this  devoted  lover,  leaves  a  figure  misty  and 
rather  obscure  and  ill-defined.  But  as  time  goes  on  it 
will  become  more  sharply  and  clearly  defined,  and  be 
more  and  more  recognized  as  one  of  the  greatest  men 
of  a  great  epoch,  and  as  an  ideal  for  conduct  and 
character  in  generations  long  hereafter  to  be  born. 


270  LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

HIS  LAST  SICKNESS,  DEATH  AND    FUNERAL.* 

QEN.  JOS.  E.  JOHNSTON  died  at  u  o'clock  Satur- 
day night  at  his  residence  on  Connecticut  Avenue, 
Washington  City.  The  General  had  been  suffering  for 
three  weeks  with  an  affection  of  the  heart,  aggravated 
by  a  cold  he  caught  soon  after  General  Sherman's 
funeral  in  New  York.  The  immediate  cause  of  his 
death  was  heart  failure,  due  more  particularly  to  extreme 
old  age.  His  physician  had  been  trying  to  keep  his 
strength  up  for  some  days,  but  his  advanced  age  had 
given  little  hope  for  his  recovery  from  the  beginning  of 
his  illness.  The  General  did  not  seem  to  suffer  in  the 
least,  and  was  conscious  to  the  last.  At  his  bedside 
was  ex-Governor  McLane,  of  Maryland,  the  General's 
brother-in-law,  and  the  nurse.  At  times  for  about  two 
years  General  Johnston  had  shown  unmistakable  signs 
of  general  breaking  down.  His  mind  often  became 
bewildered,  so  that  he  couldn't  tell  where  he  was  or  how 
he  came  there.  Some  days  after  the  Sherman  funeral, 
the  General  one  night  got  up  out  of  his  bed  while  in  a 
state  of  profuse  perspiration,  which  greatly  aggravated 
the  slight  cold  with  which  he  was  then  suffering.  This 
brought  on  a  severe  attack  of  his  old  heart  trouble, 
which  completely  prostrated  him.  His  physician,  Dr. 
Lincoln,  succeeded,  however,  with  much  difficulty  in 
arresting  the  disease  for  a  time,  and  for  a  day  or  two 
prior  he  seemed  greatly  improving.  On  Friday,  how- 

*  Collated  from  the  press  of  the  day. 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,    DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.       271 

ever,  he  went  down  stairs  without  assistance,  as  he  had 
done  before,  but  it  proved  too  much  for  his  strength, 
and  only  v/ith  the  aid  of  Governor  McL/ane  could  he 
again  reach  his  bed,  or  even  rise  from  the  sofa  where  he 
was  sitting.  From  that  time  he  continued  to  grow  worse 
until  about  6  o'clock  Saturday  evening,  when  Dr. 
Lincoln  found  him  perfectly  comfortable  and  apparently 
a  little  better.  While  his  friends  and  attendants  knew 
that  he  might  pass  away  at  any  time,  yet  they  had  had 
no  warning  that  the  end  was  so  near.  Governor 
McLane  entered  the  room  at  a  little  after  n  o'clock 
and  as  he  approached  the  General's  bedside  he  heard  an 
almost  inaudible  sigh,  and  the  General  was  dead. 

AN    ESCORT    FOR    GEN.    JOHNSTON'S    REMAINS. 

At  a  meeting  of  Maryland  Confederates  at  the 
residence  of  Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson  Sunday  night,  it 
was  decided  to  testify  their  esteem  for  the  memory  of  the 
late  Joseph  E.  Johnston  by  sending  a  committee  to 
Washington  to  attend  the  funeral  ceremonies  there  and 
to  serve  as  an  escort  to  Baltimore.  The  following  gen- 
tlemen compose  the  committee:  Gen.  George  H.  Steu- 
art,  Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson,  Adjt.-Gen.  J.  Howard, 
Col.  John  S.  Saunders,  Major  Thomas  W.  Hall,  Gen. 
John  Gill,  Col.  Charles  Marshall,  Major  W.  S.  Syming- 
ton, Capt.  F.  M.  Colston,  W.  H.  Fitzgerald,  J. 
McKenny  White,  M.  B.  Brown,  Brig. -Gen.  Stewart 
Brown,  M.  N.  G.,  Gen.  Joseph  L.  Brent,  Winfield 
Peters,  McHenry  Howard,  Skipwith  Wilmer,  Joseph 
Packard,  Jr.,  Capt.  George  W.  Booth,  Capt.  J.  S. 


272  LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Maury,  C.  S.  N.,  Gen.  R.  Snowden  Andrews,  Capt. 
Frank  H.  Smith,  J.  Southgate  Lemon,  Dr.  Gary  B. 
Gamble,  Col.  D.  G.  Mclntosh,  Capt.  C.  M.  Morris,  U. 
S.  N.,  R.  Curzon  Hoffman  and  George  C.  Jenkins.  It 
is  intended  that  Confederates  generally  shall  assemble  at 
the  depot  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  train. 

But  for  the  expressed  wish  of  the  old  hero  and  the 
irremovable  objections  of  his  relatives,  Baltimore  would 
have  made  the  interment  of  Gen.  Jo'seph  E.  Johnston  in  the 
quiet  and  beautiful  shades  of  Greenmount  Cemetery  an 
event  in  keeping  with  the  lofty  personal  and  military 
character  of  the  gallant  Confederate  who  has  so  soon 
followed  his  famous  antagonist  on  the  field  of  war, 
Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  to  the  grave. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  Confederate  societies  and 
others  to  have  a  grand  military  funeral,  and  to  call  out 
the  Fifth  Regiment  and  Fourth  Battalion  and  the  ex-Con- 
federates, but  it  was  deemed  by  those  who  knew  Gen. 
Johnston  best  to  be  more  in  keeping  with  his  simple  and 
unostentatious  tastes  and  habits,  to  bear  his  remains 
quietly  to  their  last  resting  place,  and  inter  them  with 
only  those  ceremonies  of  the  church  which  attend  the 
burial  of  the  humblest  and  most  inconspicuous  of  men. 

The  Maryland  Confederates  used  every  endeavor  con- 
sistent with  good  taste  to  change,  in  a  degree,  this 
determination,  but  in  vain.  Not  even  the  acceptance  of 
the  escort  of  a  committee  was  deemed  by  the  relatives 
in  keeping  with  Gen.  Johnston's  commands.  The  people 
will,  however,  be  able  to  manifest  their  respect  for  his 
memory  to-morrow  by  gathering  at  Union  Station  when 


HIS    LAST   SICKNESS,  DEATH   AND    FUNERAL.       273 

the  funeral  train  arrives,  as  suggested  below  by  the 
Committee. 

Understanding  that  the  immediate  family  of  the 
General  desired  a  perfectly  private  and  quiet  funeral,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  await  upon  them  and 
earnestly  request  that  the  society  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
of  the  Confederate  States  and  representatives  of  Mary- 
land National  Guard  be  permitted  to  attend  and  take 
such  part  in  the  funeral  ceremonies  as  would  testify  the 
affection  and  respect  of  the  people  of  Maryland  for  Gen. 
Johnston. 

The  committee,  consisting  of  Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson, 
Col.  John  S.  Saunders,  Maj.  N.  S.  Hill,  Col.  John  Gill, 
Major  Thomas  W.  Hall,  Col.  William  A.  Boykin,  of 
the  Fifth  Regiment,  and  Gen.  Joseph  L.  Brent,  waited 
upon  Mr.  James  L.  McLane,  representing  the  nearest 
friends  and  relatives  of  Gen.  Johnston,  and  laid  their 
request  before  him. 

Gen.  Stewart  Brown  and  Col.  Boykin  authorized  the 
committee  to  tender  the  escort  of  the  Maryland  National 
Guard,  and  the  committee  offered  an  escort  of  10,000 
men,  asked  that  the  funeral  be  postponed  until  Thursday, 
and  promised  if  this  delay  was  accorded,  that  every 
Southern  State  should  4  be  represented  and  a  demonstra- 
tion made  of  the  whole  Southern  people  for  Gen. 
Johnston. 

Mr.  McLane  thanked  the  committee  for  their  tender 
and  for  the  feeling  with  which  it  was  made,  but  said  that 
Gen.  Johnston  had  recently  told  him  distinctly  that  he 
wished  to  be  buried  as  privately  as  possible,  with  only 


274  LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

the  ceremonies  of  his  church.  In  deference  to  Gen. 
Johnston's  wishes,  so  recently  and  emphatically  ex- 
pressed, he  was  obliged  to  decline  with  regret  the  offer 
of  the  committee. 

To  this  the  committee  answered  that  Gen.  Johnston 
was  endeared  to  millions  of  his  fellow-citizens  by  his 
eminent  services  and  patriotic  devotion  to  the  public 
interests,  and  that  he  was  a  special  object  of  affection  to 
the  majority  of  the  people  of  at  least  eleven  States  of  the' 
Union,  while  the  whole  country  held  him  in  the  highest 
esteem,  and  that  it  would  be  a  shock  to  the  sensibilities 
of  his  friends  and  admirers  if  no  opportunity  were  given 
to  express  their  feelings  of  love  and  veneration  by  honor- 
ing his  remains  upon  their  interment. 

But  Mr.  McLane  said  the  funeral  must  take  place  on 
Tuesday  morning,  and  that  the  family  could  not  consent 
to  any  departure  from  the  distinctly  private  character 
determined  upon  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the 
deceased  General.  He  added,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry, 
that  an  escort  of  the  Confederate  Association  could  not 
be  accepted,  as  it  would  give  a  publicity  to  the  funeral 
not  in  harmony  with  the  family's  views. 

WASHINGTON,  March  23,  1891. 

This  morning  the  body  of  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
was  attired  in  a  plain  black  suit  and  placed  in  the  casket, 
after  which  it  was  conveyed  to  the  front  parlor  of  the 
residence. 

It  was  an  ordinary  civilian's  suit,  and  every  appear- 
ance of  military  display  was  studiously  avoided.  No 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,  DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.       275^ 

badge,  no  button,  no  decoration  of  any  shape  or  char- 
acter was  either  about  the  person  or  the  casket  of  the 
dead  General.  On  his  breast  was  a  small  cluster  of 
violets.  There  was  absolutely  no  sign  that  the  man  had 
been  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  military  leaders  of 
his  age. 

The  casket  is  of  the  pattern  ordinarily  used  for  per- 
sons of  Gen.  Johnston's  station.  It  is  covered  with 
heavy  broad-cloth,  and  has  silver  bars  and  screws,  but 
is  devoid  of  any  ornament. 

During  the  day  hundreds  of  callers  looked  upon  the 
thin  face  of  the  dead  General.  His  appearance  was 
natural,  and  the  expression  seemed  to  indicate  that  his 
death  was  painless  and  peaceful.  It  was  apparent, 
however,  that  his  last  illness  had  been  a  steady  failure 
of  vital  powers,  as  he  was  very  much  emaciated.  His 
face  was  very  thin,  and  his  hands  were  partially  trans- 
parent. During  his  illness  General  Johnston  had  no 
appetite.  He  was  sustained  by  small  administrations  of 
beef  tea  and  kindred  remedies. 

THE    DATE    OF    HIS    BIRTH. 

The  silver  plate  on  the  coffin  bears  the  inscription : 


JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON, 

Born    February,    3d,    1809, 

and 
Died  March  2ist,  1891. 


276  LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

After  the  inscription  was  ordered  it  was  positively 
ascertained  that  the  date  given  of  the  General's  birth 
was  erroneous.  The  encyclopaedias  and  other  works 
containing  sketches  of  prominent  men  differ  on  this 
point.  Some  of  them  date  General  Johnston's  birth  at 
1807  and  others  1809.  On  this  point  Dr.  George  Ben 
Johnston,  of  Richmond,  a  grand-nephew  of  the  late 
General,  said: 

"I  had  several  controversies  with  my  uncle  in  regard 
to  his  age.  He  was  firmly  convinced  that  he  was  born 
in  1809,  while  my  information  was  that  he  was  born  in 
1807.  Ex-Governor  McLane  also  maintained  that  the 
General  was  born  in  1809.  Nor  was '  the  question 
determined  until  last  night.  I  hunted  out  the  old  family 
Bible,  and  there,  in  the  handwriting  of  General  John- 
ston's father  was  the  entry:  'Joseph  Eccleston,  eighth 
son  of  Peter  Johnston,  &c.,  born  February  3,  1807.' 
This,  of  course,  was  conclusive,  and  the  plate  will  be 
changed  so  as  to  make  it  record  the  correct  age." 

The  register  of  the  West  Point  Academy  confirms 
this  entry,  and  shows  that  the  General  was  born  in  1807. 
Upon  entering  West  Point  his  age  was  given  at  18  years 
and  5  months.  He  graduated  4  years  later,  in  1829, 
and  taking  these  figures  it  is  shown  that  the  General  was 
83  years  of  age  on  the  3d  of  last  February. 

HE    KNEW    HE  WAS  FAILING. 

A  friend  of  Gen.  Johnston,  who  was  with  him  a  great 
deal  during  the  last  year  or  so,  says  that  he  was  fully  cog- 
nizant of  his  steadily  failing  physical  powers,  and  that  it 


\ 

HIS    LAST. SICKNESS,  DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.       277^ 

was  a  source  of  serious  annoyance  and  embarrassment 
to  him.  He  had  always  prided  himself  upon  his  erect 
and  soldierly  bearing  and  his  self-reliance.  When  the 
weakness  incident  to  advancing  age  assailed  him  he 
uttered  no  complaint,  but  his  friend  observed  that  he  felt 
the  change.  For  instance,  this  friend  remarked: 

"Only  a  few  weeks  ago  I  accompanied  the  General 
home.  We  rode  out  in  a  car,  and  in  front  of  his  resi- 
dence the  car  was  stopped.  The  conductor,  who  knew 
him  well,  noticing  that  the  General  was  feeble  and 
unsteady  upon  his  feet,  jumped  off  and  extended  his 
arm  for  support.  The  General  declined  it,  saying  that 
he  needed  no  assistance.  Upon  entering  the 
house  he  confessed  to  me  that  he  had  realized  his  weak- 
ness, and  he  added :  'Of  late  my  legs  have  been  unsteady 
at  times  and  they  are  much  thinner  than  formerly.' ' 

Services  will  be  held  at  St.  John's  Church  at  n 
o'clock,  and  will  be  conducted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Douglass. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  at  the  church  the 
remains  will  be  conveyed  directly  to  Baltimore  for  inter- 
ment at  Greenmount  Cemetery.  The  honorary  pall- 
bearers will  be  as  follows  :  Senator  John  T.  Morgan, 
of  Alabama  ;  Senator  John  W.  Daniel,  of  Virginia  ; 
Hon.  J.  L.  M.  Curry  ;  Gen.  John  G.  Parker,  U.  S.  A., 

Gen.  Dabney  H.  Maury,  Gen.  Charles  W.  Field,  Gen. 

f 

Harry  Heth,  Rear-Admiral  C.  R.  P.  Rodgers,  Rear- 
Admiral  W.  G.  Temple,  Gen.  H.  G.  Wright,  Gen. 
Benjamin  W.  Brice  ;  Col.  Archer  Anderson,  of  Rich- 
mond ;  Col.  Edwin  G.  Harris,  Hon.  J.  C.  Bancroft 
Davis  and  Gen.  James  Watmaugh. 


27$  LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

The  active  pall-bearers  at  the  funeral  will  be  furnished 
by  the  ex-Confederates'  Association  of  this  city.  They 
are  all  men  who  fought  under  General  Johnston,  and 
who  hold  his  name  in  veneration.  They  are  Captain 
T.  J.  Luttrell,  Private  W.  A.  Gordon,  Private  Charles 
Wheatley  ;  Major  Anderson,  president  of  the  associa- 
tion ;  Major  H.  L.  Biscoe,  Surgeon  W.  P.  Young, 
Private  Lee  Robinson  and  Captain  J.  W.  Drew. 

The  expressed  wish  of  the  family  is  that  there  be  as 
little  -demonstration  as  possible,  and  for  that  reason 
requests  from  military  and  other  organizations  that  they 
be  permitted  to  act  as  escort  have  all  been  rejected. 
Gov.  McKinney,  of  Virginia,  telegraphed  ex-Governor 
McLane  this  morning  asking  if  the  presence  of  military 
companies  from  Virginia  at  the  funeral  would  be  agree- 
able. He  was  at  once  informed  that  neither  civic  or 
military  organizations  were  desired,  and  replied  that  he 
would  attend  the  funeral  in  person,  accompanied  by 
other  State  officials. 

Among  the  telegrams  received  by  Governor  McLane 
to-day  were  the  following  : 

NEW  YORK,  March  23,  1891. 

Ex-Governor  McLane,  Washington  :  The  family  of 
General  Sherman  desire  to  tender  to  the  relatives  of 
General  Johnston  assurances  of  their  profound  sorrow 
and  sympathy.  P.  T.  SHERMAN. 

LEXINGTON,  VA.,  March  23,  1891. 
Governor  Robert  M.  McLane  :     We  have  just  heard 
of  General  Johnston's  death,  and  tender  our  heartfelt 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,  DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.       279 

sympathies  to   his    family   in    their   bereavement.     We 
regret  our  inability  to  attend  his  funeral. 

G.  W.  C.  LEE. 
W.  H.  F.  LEE. 
R.  E.  LEE. 

SAVANNAH,  GA.,  March  23,  1891. 
Ex-Governor  McLane  :  My  wife  and  I,  long-time 
loving  friends  of  our  dead  General,  send  our  deep  sym- 
pathy and  sorrow  to  his  family.  His  death,  a  keen 
personal  loss  to  us,  goes  deep  to  the  hearts  of  his  Con- 
federate soldiers  and  friends.  G.  M.  SORRELL. 

HILLSBORO,  ALA.,  March  23,  1891. 
Ex-Governor  McLane,  Washington  :    We  join  in  the 
universal  and  unutterable  regret  that  we  no  longer  have 
our  beloved  General.  JOSEPH  WHEELER. 

GRENADA,  Miss.,  March  23,  1891. 
General  Johnston  had  my  admiration   and  affection, 
and  his  family  have  my  sincere  sympathy. 

E.  C.  WALTHALL. 

There  were  many  others  from  prominent  men  and 
others  who  had  served  under  General  Johnston  during 
the  war.  Marcus  Bernheimer,  of  St.  Louis,  telegraphed 
the  sympathy  of  the  ex-soldiers  in  that  city.  J.  B. 
Washington  sent  a  message  of  condolence  from  White 
Hall,  Pa.  Archer  Anderson,  from  Richmond;  Living- 
ston Minas,  from  Atlanta;  A.  R.  Lawton,  from  Savan- 
nah, and  various  others  in  different  sections. 


280  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

The  Cotton  Exchange  of  Savannah  sent  a  message 
through  its  president,  J.  P.  Merrehew.  The  Confed- 
erate Veterans'  Association  of  Jefferson  county,  Ala., 
and  the  Confederate  Veterans'  Association  of  Kentucky 
also  sent  messages.  In  acknowledgement  of  the  nu- 
merous telegrams  received  Mr.  McLane  this  afternoon 
furnished  for  publication  the  following: 

"I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  numerous  tele- 
grams and  cards  expressing  regret  and  affection,  as  well 
as  admiration  for  the  late  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  and, 
though  I  have  not  been  able  personally  to  express  my 
entire  sympathy  with  them  in  their  sentiments,  I  have 
had  the  opportunity  to  communicate  them  .to  his  family, 
who  gratefully  accept  and  appreciate  them,  and  request 
me  to  make  this  acknowledgement. 

ROBT.  M.  MCLANE." 

An  informal  meeting  of  Union  soldiers  of  Baltimore 
decided  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Gen.  Johnston.  They 
met  at  the  office  of  Col.  G.  W.  F.  Vernon.  It  was 
stated  that  they  desired  to  show  their  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  Confederate  chieftain  whom  Sherman 
and  Grant  recognized  as  a  friend.  Col.  Vernon  pre- 
sided, and  Sergt.  C.  Armour  Newcomer  was  secretary. 
Cole's  cavalry  and  the  first,  fourth,  sixth  and  tenth 
Maryland  regiments  were  represented.  The  following 
announced  that  they  would  follow  the  remains  of  Gen. 
Johnston  to  the  grave:  Col.  G.  W.  F.  Vernon,  Gen. 
W.  E.  W.  Ross,  Sergt.  C.  A.  Newcomer,  George  W. 
Welch  and  Capt.  Wm.  II.  Taylor. 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,   DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.        281 

Nearly  four  years  a*go  Gen.  Johnston  came  to  Balti- 
more and  had  two  graves  dug  in  Greenmount  Cemetery — 
one  for  himself  and  the  other  for  his  wife.  He  'had 
them  bricked  up,  and,  as  his  friend,  Gen.  Bradley  T. 
Johnson,  expressed  it,  ''he  had  his  grave  made  as  com- 
fortable as  possible." 

The- funeral  of  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  took  place 
Tuesday  morning,  March  24,  1891,  from  St.  John's 
Church,  Washington.  The  ceremonies  were  of  the 
simplest  character,  and  when  contrasted  with  the  pomp 
and  splendor  which  has  characterized  the  recent  burials 
of  other  heroes  of  the  war  was  strikingly  unostentatious. 
The  funeral  procession  formed  at  the  late  residence  of 
the  deceased,  on  Connecticut  avenue,  and  proceeded 
directly  to  the  church.  The  honorary  pall-bearers, 
Senator  John  T.  Morgan,  of  Alabama;  Senator  John 
W.  Daniel,  of  Virginia;  Hon.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  Gen. 
John  G.  Walker,  Gen.  Charles  W.  Field,  Gen.  Harry 
Heth,  Rear-Admiral  C.  R.  P.  Rodgers,  Rear-Admiral 
W.  G.  Temple,  General  H.  C.  Wright,  General 
Benjamin  W.  Brice,  Col.  Archer  Anderson,  of  Rich- 
mond; Col.  Edwin  G.  Harris,  Hon.  J.  C.  Bancroft 
Davis  and  Gen.  James  Watmaugh,  occupied  carriages 
immediately  following  the  hearse,  and  after  them  came 
the  carriages  containing  the  relatives  of  the  deceased 
General  and  friends  of  the  family.  The  active  pall 
bearers,  selected  from  the  Confederate  Veterans'  Asso- 
ciation, preceded  the  hearse.  They  were  T.  J.  Luttrell, 
W.  A.  Gordon,  Charles  Wheatley,  Major  Anderson, 
Major  H.  L.  Biscoe,  W.  P.  Young,  Lee  Robinson  and 
J.  W.  Drew. 


282  LIU;  <>i    <;KN.  JOSKIMI   K.  JOHNSTON. 

AN    ESCORT    OF    CONFEDERATE    VETERANS. 

At  the  head  of  the  column,  and  acting  as  an  escort, 
matched  about  30  members  of  R.  E.  Lee  Camp  of  Con- 
federate Veterans,  from  Alexandria,  commanded  by  Col. 
W.  A.  Smoot.  The  appearance  of  this  organization  in 
uniform  and  marching  as  a  body  was  contrary  to  the 
wishes  of  the  dead  General's  family.  The  members  of 
the  organization,  however,  had  no  intention  of  failing  to 
respect  these  expressed  desires  regarding  organizations 
in  line,  but  so  many  of  them  assembled  at  the  Johnston 
residence,  each  anxious  to  pay  a  last  tribute  of  respect 
and  affection  to  their  dead  commander,  that  they  invol- 
untarily formed  a  feature  of  the  procession  which  it  was 
intended  should  be  lacking.  On  the  way  to  the  church 
the  veterans  were  joined  by  Col.  Robert  I.  Fleming,  a 
member  of  R.  E.  Lee  Camp  of  Veterans,  of  Richmond ; 
Gen.  John  M.  Corse  and  Col.  John  S.  Mosby,  who 
marched  at  the  head  of  the  column  beside  Col.  Smoot. 

THE    SCENE    AT    THE    CHURCH. 

When  the  procession  reached  the  church  a  large 
crowd  of  interested  spectators,  including  a  large  number 
of  veterans  of  both  armies,  had  assembled,  and  except 
the  pews  reserved  for  the  funeral  party  the  seats  were 
already  well  filled  and  a  number  of  people  were  waiting 
to  gain  admittance.  The  veterans  opened  a  way  through 
the  crowd  to  the  door  leading  into  the  chancel  of 
the  church,  and  then  formed  a  line,  in  front  of 
which  the  casket  was  borne  by  the  active  pall-bearers. 
The  honorary  pall-bearers  followed  and  were  in  turn 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,   DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.       283 

followed  by  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  family.  As 
the  coffin  was  borne  slowly  to  the  church  door  the  entire 
assemblage  outside  the  church  stood  with  uncovered 
heads,  showing  evident  feelings  of  veneration,  which  in 
its  earnestness  was  an  impressive  as  any  pomp  of 
military  display  could  have  been.  Inside  the  church,  as 
the  casket  was  borne  into  the  vestibule  of  the  building, 
the  organ  pealed  forth  a  funeral  march. 

THE    CHORISTERS. 

A  moment  later  its  tones  were  mingling  with  the 
fresh  voices  of  the  choristers  rising  in  a  solemn  chant. 
The  singers  were  not  visible  at  first,  but  as  the  music 
continued  they  entered  the  chancel,  marching  slowly, 
and  took  up  their  positions  on  either  side  of  the  altar. 
They  were  followed  by  Rev.  Dr.  Douglass,  the  pastor 
of  the  church,  who  was  accompanied  by  Rev.  Dr.  Mc- 
Kim,  pastor  of  Epiphany  church.  The  two  clergymen 
proceeded  across  the  church  to  the  door  on  the  H-street 
side,  and,  turning  there,  led  in  the  funeral  cortege. 
The  casket  was  placed  in  front  of  the  altar  rail,  where, 
despite  the  wishes  of  the  family  to  the  contrary,  several 
handsome  floral  offerings  had  been  surreptitiously  placed, 
and  those  in  attendance  took  their  places  in  the  body  of 
the  church. 

BURIAL    SERVICE. 

The  services  were  then  conducted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Doug- 
lass, and  consisted  simply  of  the  ordinary  service  of  the 
Episcopal  church  for  the  burial  of  the  dead,  interspersed 
with  hymns  impressively  rendered  by  the  choristers.  At 


284  LIFE    OF    GEN. JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

their  conclusion  the  body  was  conveyed  from  the  church, 
and,  followed  by  those  who  occupied  carriages,  was 
taken  at  once  to  the  Baltimore  and  Potomac  Depot  and 
was  placed  on  a  train  for  Baltimore. 

So  unostentatiously  were  all  the  simple  arrangements 
carried  out  that  even  the  railroad  officials  were  not 
aware  that  the  body  was  going  to  be  shipped  on  the  12.15 
train,  while  most  of  the  people  who  composed  the 
surging  crowd  about  the  depot  were  entirely  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  the  remains  of  the  last  great  General  of 
the  war  were  being  taken  to  their  last  resting-place. 

Those  who  followed  the  remains  to  the  depot  drove 
away  as  soon  as  the  body  had  been  placed  in  charge  of 
the  train  officials,  except  a  small  party  which  had  been 
selected  to  accompany  the  remains  to  Baltimore.  The 
party  consisted  of  Mr.  Allan  McLane  and  Dr.  John- 
ston, of  Richmond,  representing  the  family  ;  Senator 
Daniel,  of  Virginia,  and  one  or  two  others,  representing 
the  honorary  pall-bearers;  Major  Anderson  and  Briscoe, 
representing  the  active  pall-bearers,  and  also  the  Con- 
federate Veterans'  Association  of  this  city,  and  Prof.  W. 
D.  Cabell,  representing  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution. 
Governor  McLane  and  the  other  relatives  of  the  deceased 
followed  the  remains  to  Baltimore  on  a  train  at  2  o'clock. 

SOME    OF    THOSE    PRESENT. 

Among  those  who  attended  the  services  at  the  church 
were  Vice-President  Morton,  Gen.  D.  H.  Maury,  Gov. 
McKinney,  of  Virginia  ;  Mayor  Ellyson,  of  Richmond; 
ex-Senator  Wade  Hampton,  Gen.  Greely,  Fish  Com- 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,  DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.       285 

missioner  McDonald  and  Prof.  Cabell,  constituting  a 
committee  to  represent  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution  ;  Col. 
John  Gill,  Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson,  Major  Thomas 
Mackall,  Irving  A.  Buck,  J.  Boykin  Lee,  Wilson  M. 
Gary,  and  Col.  John  S.  Saunders,  of  Baltimore;  Major 
Wood,  of  Richmond  ;  Senator  Cockrell,  Senator  Man- 
derson,  Civil  Service  Commissioner  Thompson,  Senator 
Hawley,  Gen.  Alex.  P.  Stewart,  Col.  James  G.  Berrett, 
Representative  McMillan,  Gen.  Rosecrans,  Gen.  Eppa 
Hunton,  ex-Solicitor-General  Goode,  Senator  Butler, 
Gen.  Beverly  Robinson,  Judge  Hughes,  of  Virginia  ; 
Captain  Garden,  President  of  the  Southern  Society  of 
New  York  ;  Major  Green  Clay  Goodloe,  of  the  Marine 
Corps  ;  Gen.  Veazey,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  ;  M.  W.  Gait,  Col.  Richard 
Wintersmith,  ex-District  Attorney  Hoge,  and  a  host  of 
ex-Confederate  veterans  from  this  city  and  the  South. 

ARRIVAL    OF    THE    BODY    IN    BALTIMORE. 

When  the  body  arrived  at  Union  Station,  at  half-past 
i  o'clock,  a  good-sized  delegation  of  old  Confederate 
soldiers,  with  a  sprinkling  of  those  who  wore  the  blue, 
were  waiting  to  receive  it.  It  was  taken  from  the  bag- 
gage car  and  wheeled  across  that  station  on  a  truck, 
from  which  it  was  lifted  by  a  dozen  pairs  of  willing 
hands.  The  casket  was  carried  to  the  hearse  by  Messrs. 
James  L.  McLane  and  Louis  McLane  and  the  under- 
taker's men  through  two  long  lines  of  ex-Confederates, 
headed  by  Adjutant-General  James  Howard,  with  Col. 
J.  Lyle  Clark  acting  as  adjutant.  The  men  lifted  their 


286  LIFE    OF    GEN. JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

hats  reverently  as  the  casket  passed  before  them,  and 
after  it  had  been  placed  in  the  hearse  and  taken  to 
Greenmount  Cemetery  they  gathered  about  the  station  in 
little  groups  and  spoke  lovingly  of  the  old  General. 

AT    THE    CEMETERY. 

Messrs.  James  L.  McLane,  Louis  McLane  and  Allan 
McLane,  Jr.,  followed  Gen.  Johnston's  body  to  the 
cemetery.  R.  M.  Chambers  and  James  McKee,  of  the 
Maryland  line,  also  went  to  the  cemetery  and  assisted  in 
placing  the  body  in  the  mausoleum,  whence  it  will  be 
interred  in  the  grave  Gen.  Johnston  had  himself  pre- 
pared at  some  future  day. 

SOLDIERS    OF    BOTH    ARMIES. 

Among  those  who  met  the  body  at  the  depo.  were 
Capt.  Chas.  N.  Claiborne,  Capt.  H.  H.  Lewis,  Wm.  H. 
Pope,  Wm.  H.  Thomas,  Lieut.  J.  W.  Elliott,  Wm.  C. 
Thomas,  D.  W.  Stubbs,  Major  Stuart  Symington,  S. 
Clotworthy,  S.  W.  Dorsey,  W:  S.  Skidmore,  Frank  X. 
Ward,  Major  F.  H.  Wigfall,  Gustav  Lurman,  Joseph  L. 
Brent,  S.  H.  Richardson,  Col.  Levin  Lake,  F.  F. 
Presstman,  Charles  W.  Small,  Col.  George  R.  Gaither, 
John  H.  Briscoe,  Herman  Stump,  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Dame, 
Rev.  A.  DeR.  Mears,  F.  M.  Duvall,  James  K.  Har- 
wood,  Dr.  T.  K.  Ward,  B.  S.  Hackney,  Andrew  C. 
Trippe,  Henry  A.  Wise,  George  W.  Wood,  Thomas  C. 
Pugh,  Joshua  Thomas,  McHenry  Howard,  James 
Murray,  George  A.  Streiber,  W.  R.  Woody,  Capt. 
Maury,  Capt.  F.  M.  Colston  and  Major  Geo.  C.  Wed- 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,    DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.        287 

derburn.  Among  the  Federal  soldiers  present  were 
Gen.  John  R.  Kenly,  Col.  Geo.  W.  F.  Vernon,  Capt. 
W.  D.  Burchinal,  Capt.  Win.  H.  Taylor,  Capt.  L.  M. 
Zimmerman,  Sergt.  C.  A.  Newcomer  and  Gen.  W.  E. 

7  O 

W.  Ross. 

The  Baltimore  Sun  has  the  following: 

"The  military  career  of  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
which  began  over  sixty  years  ago,  was  marked  by  con- 
spicuous gallantry  at  the  outset,  and  by  masterly  general-  • 
ship  against  overwhelming  odds  at  the  close.  In  Florida 
and  in  Mexico  he  exhibited  a  daring  courage,  which 
was  proved  by  the  number  of  his  wounds,  and  at  the 
same  time  demonstrated  that  his  military  abilities  were 
of  a  very  high  order.  Inheriting  a  martial  spirit  from 
his  father,  who,  when  a  mere  lad,  became  a  revolution- 
ary soldier,  he  was  wedded  to  his  profession,  which  was 
for  him,  as  it  was  for  Lee,  a  noble  science,  to  which  he 
dedicated  all  his  energies.  With  Lee,  he  was  one  of 
the  most  notable  of  the  group  of  young  officers  who 
before  the  war  were  regarded  as  "coming  men"  in  the 
army — a  group  that  included  several  Marylanders,  with 
whom  both  Johnston  and  Lee  were  on  terms  of  affec- 
tionate intimacy.  When  the  war  began  he,  like  Lee, 
resigned  his  commission  rather  than  fight  against  his 
native  State,  Virginia,  and  it  was  on  Virginia's  soil  that 
he  contributed  so  largely  to  the  first  brilliant  victory  of 
the  Confederacy — the  first  Bull  Run  or  Manassas.  While 
the  credit  for  that  remarkable  triumph  must  be  shared 
by  him  with  Beauregard,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  but  for 
his  strategy  in  rendering  Patterson's  forces  inoperative 


288  LIFE    OP   GEN.    JOSEPH    K.    JOHNSTON. 

and  marching  to  the  assistance  of  Beauregard,  the  latter 
probably  would  not  have  been  able  to  crush  McDowell 
and  to  put  his  army  to  so  demoralizing  a  rout  as  that 
which  followed  the  battle.  Unfortunately,  General 
Johnston's  ideas  as  to  the  proper  method  of  conducting 
operations  came  into  conflict  with  those  of  the  authorities 
at  Richmond,  and  it  has  been  claimed,  and  probably 
with  justice,  on  his  behalf,  that  he  was  not  permitted  to 
work  out  to  their  full  fruition  the  plans  he  had  formed 
for  baffling  Sherman.  His  value  to  the  Confederacy 
was  seen,  however,  in  the  disasters  that  followed  his 
removal  from  command,  and  his  military  reputation  was 
fully  vindicated  when  President  Davis  and  his  advisers 
turned  to  him  in  their  extremity  as  the  only  man  capable 
of  repairing  the  damage  that  had  been  done.  But  it 
was  then  too  late,  and  although  General  Johnston  loyally 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  of  his  powers,  the  doomed 
Confederacy  toppled  to  its  fall.  Johnston  stands  with 
Lee  and  Jackson  among  the  great  commanders  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  Virginia,  which  may  be  called  the 
mother  of  generals  as  well  as  the  mother  of  presidents, 
has  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  distinguished  son. 
A  pure,  high-minded  gentleman,  an  intrepid  soldier, 
a  master  of  the  art  of  war,  whom  the  greatest  of  his 
enemies  respected  and  feared,  he  presents  to  us  and  to 
those  who  come  after  us  a  noble  type  of  the  cultured 
American." 

"The  closing  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  the  service 
of  a  re-united  country — that  country  for  which  he  had 
fought  and  bled  in  his  earlier  years,  and  in  peaceful  and 


HIS    LAST    SICKNESS,   DEATH    AND    FUNERAL.       289 

friendly  intercourse  with  those  whom  he  had  confronted 
as  enemies  on  the  field  of  battle.  It  was  singularly 
appropriate  that  his  last  notable  appearances  before  the 
public  should  have  been  as  the  central  figure  at  the 
unveiling  of  the  Richmond  monument  to  Lee,  the  com- 
rade and  friend  of  his  youth  and  his  follow-hero  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  as  one  of  the  chief  mourners  at  the 
bier  of  his  old  adversary,  Sherman,  who  preceded  him 
by  only  a  few  short  weeks  to  the  grave." 

This  distinguished  soldier  has  quickly  followed  to  the 
grave  General  Sherman,  his  one  time  great  adversary  in 
war,  and  almost  life-long  friend  in  peace.  He  was 
the  oldest  and  next  to  the  last  of  the  highest  Confed- 
erates of  high  rank.  He  fought  in  three  wars,  the 
Seminole  Indian  Florida  war,  the  Mexican  war  and  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion.  He  was  wounded  in  all  of  them, 
and  yet  lived  to  the  age  of  84  years.  Gen.  Johnston 
was  accounted  a  very  accomplished  and  skillful  soldier 
during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  but  circumstances,  and 
the  personal  hostility  of  Jefferson  Davis,  were  against 
him.  He  had  occasion  to  complain  bitterly  of  the 
interference  of  Davis,  who,  being  a  West  Point  graduate 
and  a  man  of  imperious  will,  had  a  great  deal  to  say 
about  military  operations,  and  was  as  much  of  a  hind- 
rance to  the  Generals  in  the  field,  except  Lee,  as  were 
the  closet  soldiers  in  Washington  who  tried  so  disast- 
rously to  direct  Federal  operations  before  the  coming  of 
Grant.  Since  the  war  Gen.  Johnston  has  been  earnestly 
engaged  in  restoring  good  feeling  between  the  sections, 
and  quickly  renewed  his  friendship  with  Generals  Sher- 
man and  Grant. 


290  LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Indeed  there  was  something  akin  in  the  treatment 
received  by  these  great  rival  soldiers — Johnston  and 
Sherman — by  meddling  semi-military  officials  on  the 
opposite  sides  in  the  war.  Johnston  was  the  object  of 
unrelenting  hatred  by  Davis,  operating  from  Richmond 
in  Tennessee  and  Georgia,  during  Sherman's  memor- 
able campaign  from  the  mountains  towards  the  sea, 
while  Sherman  was  subjected  at  the  very  close  of  his 
brilliant  campaign  and  priceless  service  to  the  country 
to  cruel  aspersion  and  insult,  almost  immediately  upon 
the  death  of  Lincoln,  by  Secretary  Stanton,  who  then 
happened  to  be  in  possession  of  power. 


GEN.   DABNEY  H.  MAURY's    REMINISCENCES.        29! 


CHAPTER  XX. 

GEN.    DABNEY    H.    MAURY's    REMINISCENCES. 

T  FIRST  saw  Gen.  Johnston  at  Vera  Cruz  in  March, 
*  1847*  when,  after  a  bombardment  of  two  weeks, 
the  city  raised  the  white  flag,  and  Gen.  Scott  appointed 
Capt.  Robert  E.  Lee  and  Capt.  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  of 
his  staff,  to  go  into  the  place  and  arrange  the  terms  of 
its  surrender.  They  were  then  distinguished  young 
officers,  intimate  friends  to  each  other,  and  their  martial 
appearance,  as  they  rode,  superbly  mounted,  to  meet 
the  Mexican  officers,  gave  a  general  feeling  of  satis- 
faction to  our  army,  that  such  representatives  of  the 
"North  Americans"  had  been  chosen  for  such  an 
occasion. 

A  few  days  before  Gen.  Scott  had  published  to  his 
army  a  congratulatory  order  announcing  "the  great 
victory  won  by  the  successful  Gen.  Taylor"  on  the 
field  of  Buena  Vista.  We  young  Virginians  felt  very 
proud  that  day. 

After  disposing  of  Vera  Cruz  we  moved  on  towards 
the  City  of  Mexico.  The  army  marched  along  the 
great  National  road  made  by  the  old  Spaniards  till 
about  April  I2th,  when  some  cannon-shots  from  Cerro 
Gordo  checked  the  advance  guard  of  our  cavalry,  and 
made  us  know  Santa  Anna  was  prepared  to  give  us 
battle  there. 


292  LIFE    OF    GEN.    TOSEPII    E.  JOHNSTON. 

WOUNDED    IN    MEXICO. 

Capt.  Johnston  was  ordered  to  make  a  reconnoissance 
of  his  'position.  "C"  company  of  Rifles  (now  Third 
cavalry)  was  a  part  of  his  escort,  I  being  attached  to  it. 
We  had  been  halted  in  the  timber,  just  out  of  sight  of 
the  enemy,  some  twenty  minutes,  when  we  heard  the 
rattle  of  musketry,  and  a  few  minutes  later  the  order 
came  "fall  back  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  road"  to  let 
the  bearers  of  Capt.  Johnston  pass  by.  He  had  received 
two  severe  wounds  while  making  a  daring  reconnois- 
sance, and  was  borne  back  to  Plan  Del  Rio,  and  placed 
in  the  most  airy  house  in  the  village,  where  I  also  was 
borne,  five  days  later,  being  severely  wounded. 

Stevens  Mason,  captain  of  the  Rifles,  was  taken  the^e 
also,  and  a  few  days  after,  Lieut.  Derby  (John  Phoenix) 
was  brought  in  and  laid  on  a  cot  by  my  side. 

A    DISCIPLINARIAN. 

The  rooms  were  separated  by  partitions  o*  reeds, which 
admitted  the  passage  of  air  and  sound,  and  we  could 
converse  from  One  room  to  another.  Derby's  coarse 
humor  was  irrepressible.  Nothing  could  stop  it,  and  it 
gave  annoyance,  especially  to  Capt.  Johnston,  who  was 
as  pure  as  a  woman  in  word  and  thought.  But  he  lay 
quiescent,  without  any  expression  of  pain,  though  his 
wounds  were  the  most  grievous  of  all,  and  silently  en- 
dured Derby's  jokes  till  he  heard  him  one  day  order  his 
servant  to  catch  a  lamb  from  a  passing  flock  and  have 
it  cooked  for  dinner.  Then  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and 
said:  "If  you  dare  to  do  that,  sir,  I  will  have  you  court- 
martialed." 


GEN.   DABNEY  H.   MAURY  S    REMINISCENCES.         293 

After  ten  days  Gen.  Scott  had  all  of  us  borne  on 
litters  up  to  the  beautiful  city  of  Jalapa,  where  we  were 
in  a  delicious  climate  and  luxurious  quarters. 

After  getting  strength  enough  to  walk  to  Capt.  (now 
Col.)  Johnston's  quarters — he  had  been  promoted  to  the 
lieutenant-colonelcy  of  the  fine  regiment  of  voltigeurs — 
I  went  to  see  him  every  day,  and  we  there  formed 
an  attachment  which  ever  grew  until  the  end.  His 
nephew,  the  gallant  young  Preston  Johnston,  of  the 
artillery,  was  his  constant  companion  and  nurse.  Ten 
months  later  both  had  been  shot  down  in  battle  "in 
the  valley."  Young  Preston  Johnston  was  killed  in- 
stantly. His  uncle,  then  heading  the  voltigeurs  at 
Chapultepec,  was  again  severely  wounded. 

TENDER    AFFECTION. 

Only  a  month  ago  he  told  me  with  deep  feeling  of 
his  distress  on  hearing  of  his  brave  boy's  death,  and 
how  Lee,  who  broke  the  news  to  him,  wept  as  he 
grasped  his  hand  and  told  it.  The  affection  between 
these  two  great  men  was  very  tender. 

A    COMPARISON. 

After  the  Mexican  war  we  met  no  more  on  duty  until 
about  1858,  when  a  board  of  cavalry  officers  was 
assembled  in  Washington  to  establish  a  uniform  equip- 
age for  our  cavalry  and  artillery  regiments.  We  were 
occupied  several  weeks  on  this  business  in  Winder's 
building,  where  during  the  same  time  Capt.  William  B. 
Franklin  and  Raphael  Semmes  were  serving  together 
on  the  light-house  board. 


294  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

One  day,  after  our  daily  session,  Franklin  said :  "Now 
that  you  have  seen  Lee  and  Johnston  working  together 
for  some  weeks,  how  do  you  estimate  the  two  men  ?  In 
previous  discussion  I  had  thought  Lee  more  full  of  promise 
and  capacity." 

I  said:  "While  both  are  as  earnest  and  intelligent  as 
possible,  I  have  noticed  that  Col.  Lee  often  yields  his 
opinions  to  those  of  the  board,  or  of  other  members  of  it, 
while  Col.  Johnston  has  never  on  any  occasion  yielded 
his,  but  frequently  has  made  the  board  yield  to  him.  In 
fact,  he  is  the  one  man  who  seems  to  have  come  to  his 
work  with  a  clear  and  fixed  idea  of  what  is  needed  in 
every  detail  of  it." 

CORDIAL    INTERCOURSE. 

Our  intercourse,  as  you  know,  has  been  cordial  and 
even  affectionate  ever  since  we  met  in  Mexico.  I  was 
with  him  for  a  few  days  after  the  first  battle  of  Manassas, 
and  accompanied  him  as  he  rode  over  the  field,  and 
described  the  course  and  incidents  of  the  fight.  Then, 
I  being  ordered  to  the  West,  met  him  no  more  until 
about  Christmas,  1862.  When  he  came  to  our  army  at 
Grenada  with  President  Davis,  who  reviewed  and 
inspected  it,  the  army  was  in  position  in  our  entrench- 
ments on  the  Yallabusha.  I  commanded  the  centre, 
and  was  in  my  place  when  Gen.  Johnston  rode  out  from 
the  President's  cortege,  greeted  me  *most  cordially,  and 
asked  me  to  ride  with  him,  which  we  did  for  several 
hours. 

'.     MISTAKE. 

He  had  iust  returned  from  an  inspection  of  Vicksburg, 


GEN.   DABNEY  H.    MAURY's    REMINISCENCES.         295 

and  told  me  he  had  never  seen  so  much  fortification,  and 
thought  it  a  mistake  to  keep  so  large  an  army  in  an  en- 
trenched camp;  that  the  army  ought  to  be  in  the  field; 
that  a  heavy  work  should  be  constructed  to  command 
the  river  just  above  Vicksburg,  at  "the  turn,"  with  a 
year's  supply  for  a  good  garrison  of  about  3,000  men, 
which  would  guard  the  river  better  than  the  long  line  of 
dispersed  guns  and  entrenchments  and  troops  which 
extended  above  and  belo-vn  Vicksburg  for  more  than 
twenty  miles. 

While  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  I 
occasionally  sent  him  supplies  of  provisions,  troops,  and 
some  siege  pieces,  which  he  mounted  on  the  works  at 
Atlanta,  declaring  thereby  his  intention  to  "keep  that 
place"  After  his  removal  from  command,  I  received 
this  very  interesting  letter  from  him : 

GENERAL  JOHNSTON'S  LETTER. 

MACON,  GA.,  September  i,  1864. 

My  dear  Maury — I  have  been  intending  ever  since 
my  arrival  at  this  place  to  pay  a  part  of  the  epistolary 
debt  I  owe  you.  But  you  know  how  lazy  it  makes  one 
to  have  nothing  to  do,  and  so  with  the  hot  weather  we 
have  been  enduring  here  I  have  absolutely  devoted 
myself  to  idleness.  I  have  been  disposed  to  write  more 
particularly  of  what  concerns  myself — to  explain  to  you 
as  far  as  practicable  the  operations  for  which  I  was  laid 
on  the  shelf,  for  you  are  one  of  the  last  whose  unfavor- 
able opinion  I  should  be  willing  to  incur. 

You  know  that  the  army  I  commanded  was  that  which, 
under  Gen.  Bragg,  was  routed  at  Missionary  Ridge. 
Sherman's  army  was  -that  which  routed  it,  reinforced 
by  the  Sixteenth  and  Twenty-third  corps.  I  am  cen- 
sured for  not  taking  the  offensive  at  Dalton — where  the 


296  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSH  I' 1 1     K.   JOHNSTON. 

enemy,  if  beaten,  had  a  secure  refuge  behind  the 
fortified  gap  at  Ringgold,  or  in  the  fortress  of  Chatta- 
nooga, and  where  the  odds  against  us  were  almost  as 
ten  to  four.  At  Resaca  he  received  five  brigades,  near 
Kingston  three,  and  about  3,500  cavalry,  at  New  Hope 
church  one — in  all  about  14,000  infantry  and  artillery. 
The  enemy  received  the  Seventeenth  corps  and  a  number 
of  garrisons  and  bridge  guards  from  Tennessee  and  Ken- 
tucky that  had  been  relieved  by  "loo-day  men." 

FOUGHT    EVERY    DAY. 

I  am  blamed  for  not  fighting.  Operations  com- 
menced about  the  6th  of  May.  I  was  relieved  on  the 
i8th  of  July.  In  that  time  we  fought  daily,  always 
under  circumstances  so  favorable  to  us  as  to  make  it 
certain  that  the  sum  of  the  enemy's  losses  was  five 
times  ours,  which  was  10,000.  Northern  papers  rep- 
resented theirs  up  to  about  the  end  of  June  at  45 ,000. 
Sherman's  progress  was  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  a  day.  Had  this  style  of  fighting  been  allowed 
to  continue,  is  it  not  clear  that  we  would  soon  have  been 
able  to  give  battle  with  abundant  chances  of  victory? 
and  that  the  enemy,  beaten  on  this  side  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochee,  would  have  been  destroyed? 

SHERMAN'S  ARMY  STRONGER. 

It  is  certain  that  Sherman's  army  was  stronger,  com- 
pared with  that  of  Tennessee,  than  Grant's,  compared 
with  that  offr  Northern  Virginia.  Gen.  Bragg  asserts 
that  Sherman's  was  absolutely  stronger  than  Grant's. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  army  of  Virginia  was  much 
superior  to  that  of  Tennessee.  Why,  then,  should  I  be 
condemned  for  the  defensive,  while  Gen.  Lee  was  add- 
ing to  his  great  fame  by  the  same  course?  Gen.  Bragg 
seems  to  have  earned  at  Missionary  Ridge  his  present 
high  position.  People  report  at  Columbus  and  Mont- 
gomery that  Gen.  Bragg  said  that  my  losses  had  been 
frightful ;  that  I  had  disregarded  the  wishes  and  instruc- 
tions of  the  President;  that  he  had  in  vain  implored  me 


GEN.    DABNEY  H.   MAURY'S    REMINISCENSES.         297 

to  change  my  course,  by  which,  I  suppose,  it  is  meant 
assume  the  offensive. 


UTTERLY  UNTRUE. 

As  these  things  are  utterly  untrue;  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  they  were  said  by  Gen.  Bragg.  The 
President  gave  me  no  instructions,  and  expressed  no 
wishes,  except  just  before  we  reached  the  Chattahoo- 
chee,  warning  me  not  fight  with  the  river  behind  us, 
and  against  crossing  it,  and  previously  he  urged  me  not 
to  allow  Sherman  to  detach  to  Grant's  aid.  Gen.  Bragg 
passed  some  ten  hours  with  me  just  before  I  was  relieved, 
and  gave  me  the  impression  that  his  visit  to  the  army 
was  casual,  he  being  on  his  way  further  west,  to  en- 
deavor to  get  us  reinforcements  from  Kirby  Smith  and 
Lee.  I  thought  him  satisfied  with  the  state  of  things, 
but  not  so  with  that  in  Virginia.  He  assured  me  that  he 
had  always  maintained  in  Richmond  that  Sherman's 
army  was  stronger  than  Grant's.  He  said  nothing  of 
the  intention  to  relieve  me,  but  talked  with  Gen,  Hood 
011  the  subject,  as  I  learned  after  my  removal. 

THE    OBJECT. 

It  is  clear  that  his  expedition  had  no  other  purpose 
than  my  removal,  and  the  giving  proper  direction  to 
public  opinion  on  the  subject.  He  could  have  had  no 
other  object  in  going  to  Montgomery.  A  man  of  honor 
in  his  place  would  have  communicated  with  me,  as  well 
as  Hood,  on  the  subject.  ,  Being  expected  to  assume  the 
offensive,  he  attacked,  on  the  2Oth,  22d  and  28th  of  July, 
disastrously  losing  more  men  than  I  had  done  in  seventy- 
two  days.  Since  then  his  defensive  has  been  at  least  as 
quiet  as  mine  was.  But  you  must  be  tired  of  this. 

HOSPITABLE    GEORGIANS. 

We  are  living  very  quietly  and  pleasantly  here.  The 
Georgians  have  been  very  hospitable.  We  stopped  here 
merely  because  it  was  the  first  stopping  place. 


298  LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

her  us  cordially  to  Mrs.  Maury .  Tell  her  that  the  gloves 
arrived  most  opportunely.  Mine  had  just  been  lost,  and 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  buy  more,  and  they  are 
lovely. 

Just  before  I  left  the  army,  we  thought  the  odds 
against  us  had  been  reduced  almost  six  to  four.  I  have 
not  supposed,  therefore,  that  Sherman  could  either  invest 
Atlanta  or  carry  it  by  assault. 

Very  truly  yours, 
Major-Gen.  Maury.  J.  E.  JOHNSTON. 

Since  the  great  war  between  the  States,  we  have 
been  often  so  associated  as  to  impress  me  with  the 
tender  nature  which  underlay  the  martial  mind  and 
person  of  our  great  soldier.  As  a  host,  and  with  his 
wife,  he  was  attentive  and  tender  above  all  men.  She' 
was  very  humorous  and  jovial,  and  delighted  to  have 
a  joke  on  him,  and  he  enjoyed  it  from  her  as  heartily 
as  any  of  us. 

WHY  DON'T  YOU  RUN  AWAY? 

One  day,  at  Sweet  Chalybeate  Springs,  a  party  of 
us,  as  usual,  assembled  before  dinner  around  one  of 
John  Dabney's  great  hail-storm  juleps.  The  General 
was  sitting  near  the  baluster  of  the  portico,  which 
overlooked  the  walk  beneath,  and  deep  in  some  nar- 
rative, when  he  was  interrupted  by  a  shriek,  which 
startled  us  all,  and  broke  in  upon  his  story.  After 
looking  over  to  learn  the  cause  of  such  a  yell,  he 
re-commenced  his  story,  but  was  again  interrupted  as 
before.  Again  he  looked,  and  then  again  resumed, 
only  to  be  interrupted  a  third  time.  Then,  fierce  as 
Mars,  he  looked  down  upon  the  screamer,  and  said: 


GEN.   DABNEY  H.   MAURY  S    REMINISCENCES.        299 

"Why  don't  you  run  away?  Why  don't  you  run 
away?"  I  suggested:  "Well,  that's  fine  advice  for  a 
great  general  to  give."  Turning  savagely  upon  me, 
he  said:  "If  she  will  not  fight,  sir,  is  not  the  best 
thing  for  her  to  do  to  run  away,  sir?"  Mrs.  Johnston, 
with  a  burst  of  her  hearty  laugh,  said:  "That  used 
to  be  your  plan  always,  I  know,  sir."  This  relieved 
us  all,  and  we  burst  into  a  laugh,  in  which  he  ioined 
as  heartily  as  any. 

A    TERRIBLE    GOBBLER. 

The  cause  of  all  of  this  disturbance  was  a  young 
woman  in  a  red  cloak,  upon  whom  a  turkey-gobbler 
charged.  The  girl  stood  still  and  shrieked  with  fear. 
The  gobbler  then  wheeled  in  retreat,  only  to  make  an- 
other charge  on  the  paralyzed  woman,  whose  only 
course  each  time  was  to  shake  herself  and  shriek  until 
somebody  came  and  drove  the  gobbler  away. 

ELDER'S  PICTURE. 

The  State  of  Virginia  employed  Jack  Elder  to  paint 
his  portrait— a  good  one  it  is — and  now  hangs  in  the  ro- 
tunda of  our  capitol,  be§ide  Lee's.  I  was  asked  to  go 
and  keep  him  in  chat  while  the  artist  was  at  work.  The 
first  sitting  was  occupied  by  him  in  discussing  Napoleon, 
Marlborough  and  Wellington,  and  a  short-hand  writer 
might  then  have  recorded  the  most  terse  critique  ever 
pronounced  on  these  great  commanders. 

THE    LITTLE    CORPORAL. 

He  placed  Napoleon  above  all  thejGenerals  of  history. 


3OO  LIFE    OK    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Maryborough  he  ranks  above  all  Englishmen,  and  cen- 
sured Macaulay  for  allowing  his  partisan  feelings  for 
King  William  to  transmit  as  history  his  aspersions  of 
Maryborough.  Wellington  he  considered  a  very  great 
General,  but  denounced  his  brutality  in  Spain,  in  giving 
to  sack,  by  the  British  soldiery,  the  cities  of  the  people 
he  was  sent  there  to  defend  and  protect. 

HIS    OPINION    OF    FORREST. 

The  next  day  we  had  another  sitting,  and  he  discussed 
the  Generals  of  our  war.  He  spoke  most  highly  of  For- 
rest, whom  he  had  closely  observed,  and  declared  to  be 

the  greatest  soldier  the  war  produced.     You  know  how 

« 
keenly  he  felt  that  the  Virginians  had  known  so  little  of 

him  in  our  war.  His  strongest  desire  was  to  be  identi- 
fied with  Virginia.  'Twas  this  caused  him  to  agree  to 
go  to  Congress,  and,  up  to  the  last,  he  often  expressed 
his  wish  to  live  in  Virginia. 

A    TRUE    DESCRIPTION. 

One  day,  during  his  canvass  for  Congress,  Mrs. 
Johnston,  meeting  me  on  Main  street,  said:  "Can 
you  tell  me  where  my  husband  .is?"  I  went  at  once, 
and  found  him,  and  said:  "The  handsomest  and 
brightest  woman  in  Richmond  is  looking  for  her  hus- 
band." "There  is  but  one  woman  in  Richmond  who 
answers  that  description,  and  she  is  my  wife.  I'll  go 
to  find  her  at  once." 

Some  time  after  I  heard  he  had  been  laid  up  by  an 
accident  to  his  leg,  and  went  to  see  him.  He  was  sit- 


GEN.  DABNEY  H.  MAURY's    REMINISCENCES.         30! 

ting  in  the  parlor,  with  his  leg  extended  over  a  chair. 
His  wife  was  by  him,  and  affected  to  triumph  over  him 
in  his  crippled  condition.  I  said:  ''That's  very  un- 
grateful in  you  to  -so  treat  the  husband  who  loves  and 
admires  you  as  he  does,"  and  then  told  her  the  above 
incident.  She  said:  "You  old  goose,  you,  do  you  let 
him  fool  you  in^that  way?  Don't  you  know  he  said 
that  to  you,  knowing  that  you  would  come  and  tell 
me?" 

He  joined  heartily  in  the  laugh,  as  he  always  did 
when  she  raised  one  at  his  expense. 

HIS    TENDER    CARE. 

You  remember  that  ten  years  or  so  ago,  Mrs.  John- 
jton  was  very  ill  for  many  weeks  at  the  White  Sulphur. 
The  General  nursed  her  with  the  tender  care  of  a 
mother.  He  never  left  her,  except  to  get  a  hurried 
meal,  from  which  he  hastened  back  to  her  sick  cham- 
ber. Mrs.  James  Lyons  was  an  active  and  constant 
friend,  and  so  soon  as  Mrs.  Johnston  began  to  improve 
in  health,  she  insisted  that  the  General  should  relax  his 
anxious  \vatch,  and  induced  him  to  take  the  air  for  an 
hour  or  two  every  day.  But  he  would  never  go  far 
from  their  cottage  door,  but  sat  upon  a  fallen  tree  on 
the  lawn,  in  sight  and  sound  of  it,  and  conversed  with 
a  friend.  On  these  occasions  he  talked  all  the  time, 
and  all  he  ever  said  was  full  of  strong  conviction  and 
good  sense. 

RETICENCE    AND    EMBARRASSMENT. 

Genial  and  confiding  as  he  was  to  the  friends  he  knew 


3O2  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

and  trusted,  he  was  reticent  and  even  aversive  to  those 
whom  he  did  not  like,  and  was  quick  to  resent  any  free- 
dom or  liberty  from  those  he  did  not  like  nor  know.  Of 
all  men  in  the  world,  he  was  the  least  fitted  for  the  work  of 
canvassing  a  Virginia  district,  and  he  never  went  upon 
the  hustings  that  his  friends  did  not  fear  he  would 
give  offense  to  somebody,  and  in  this,  we  were  sorely 
disappointed.  He  could  not  overcome  his  embarrass- 
ment in  making  an  extempore  speech,  and  therefore, 
tried  to  write  out  his  speeches  and  get  them  by  heart. 
But  he  found  it  impossible  to  commit  to  memory  what  he 
had  written  himself,  though  in  all  other  directions  his 
memory  was  the  most  accurate  and  retentive.  Towards 
the  last  years  of  his  life  he  could  not  command  it  in 
little  matters,  and  was  often  at  a  loss  for  the  exact  word* 
he  wished.  t  This  was  a  great  trial  to  him,  and  in  it  he 
recognized  the  beginning  of  the  end.  There  was  a 
magnetic  power  about  him  no  man  could  resist,  and 
exact  discipline  followed  at  once  upon  his  assuming  any 
command. 

A  WRETCHED    CONDITION. 

When  he  took  charge  of  the  great  army  which  had 
been  defeated,  and  disorganized,  before  his  arrival  to  its 
command,  it  was  in  wretched  condition.  Most  of  the 
general  officers  were  in  open  hostility  and  avowed  mis- 
trust of  the  general  commanding,  and  indiscipline  pre- 
vailed throughout.  When  Johnston  came  the  change 
was  instantaneous,  and  henceforth  no  army  of  the  Con- 
federacy ever  equaled  Johnston's  in  drill  and  high  dis- 
cipline. 


GEN.  DABNEY  H.  MAURY  S    REMINISCENCES.         303 
HOW    HE    IMPROVED    IT. 

Gen. -Carter  Stevenson  was  one  of  the  division  com- 
manders of  that  army,  of  the  largest  experience  and 
military  accomplishments.  He  had  served  in  every  army 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  actively  in  all  of  our  wars  since 
1834.  He  told  me  he  had  never  seen  any  troops  in  such 
fine  discipline  and  condition  as  Johnston's  army  the  day 
he  was  moved  from  its  command. 

Gen.  Randall  L.  Gibson  had  been  in  constant  action 
in  the  Western  army  (he  it  was  who  closed  an  honorable 
record  by  his  masterly  command  of  the  defences  near 
Spanish  Fort,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Mobile  Bay,  in  the 
last  battle  of  the  war  between  the  States),  and  says,  that 
when  Johnston  assumed  command  of  that  army  it  was 
somewhat  demoralized,  but,  when  the  campaign  with 
Sherman  opened,  the  worse  regiment  in  it  was  equal  to 
the  best  when  he  came  to  its  command.  A  Missouri 
soldier,  of  CockrelFs  brigade,  which  Johnston  declared 
to  be  the  best  body  of  infantry  he  ever  saw,  was  on  his 
way  back  to  his  regiment,  after  recovery  from  a  wound. 
I  asked  him,  "What  do  you  all  think  of  the  change  of 
commanders?"  "  Oh,  sir,  we  are  mightily  cut  down 
about  it!  The  bomb-proofs  and  the  newspapers  com- 
plain of  his  retreats.  Why,  we  did  not  miss  a  meal 
from  Dalton  to  Atlanta,  and  were  always  ready  for  the 
fight.  We  never  felt  we  were  retreating." 

GRANT'S  OPINION. 

During  that  campaign,  Bishop  Lay  went  to  City  Point 
to  get  a  pass  from  Grant  to  enable  him  to  return  to  his 


304  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

home.  He  told  me  Grant  sent  for  him,  invited  him  to 
his  headquarters,  and  talked  freely  with  him  for  a  long 
time.  He  seemed,  to  the  Bishop,  to  feel  that  he  was 
handling  Sherman's  army  during  that  campaign.  He 
said  that  the  telegraph  was  a  wonderful  accessory  of 
war;  that  every  night  he  and  Sherman  conversed  by  it 
an  hour  or  two  about  the  movements  of  the  army  on  that 
day,  and  what  it  was  to  do  on  the  next.  And,  he  said; 
"Bishop,  when  I  heard  your  government  had  removed 
Johnston  from  command,  I  was  as  happy  as  if  I  had  re- 
inforced Sherman  with  a  large  army  corps." 

SCHOFIELD. 

During  the  past  year,  Gen.  Johnston,  responding  to 
me,  said  in  his  emphatic  manner:  "Yes,  I  consider 
Gen.  Schofield  much  the  ablest  soldier,  and  the  highest 
gentleman,  who  has  occupied  that  office  since  I  have 
known  it." 

Such  a  tribute,  from  such  a  source,  must  be  very 
gratifying  to  such  a  soldier  as  Schofield  is.  And,  you 
know,  just  praise  is  the  breath  of  the  soldier's  life,  and 
its  highest  aim 

THE    BEST    SHOT. 

The  General  bitterly  deplored  the  long  inaction 
which  his  severe  wounds  at  Seven  Pines  enforced  upon 
him.  When  he  was  lying  at  Mr.  Crenshaw's,  in  Rich- 
mond, where  he  was  brought  from  the  field,  his  medical 
director,  Dr.  Fauntleroy,  told  me  an  old  Virginian 
called  to  pay  his  respects  and  sympathy. 

He  said:    "Not  only  do*  we  deplore  this  cruel  afflic- 


GEN.  DABNEY  H.   MAURY's    REMINISCENCES.        305 

tion  upon  you,  General,  but  we  feel  it  to  be  a  national 
calamity." 

"No,  sir,"  said  Johnston,  fiercely,  rising  suddenly 
upon  his  unbroken  elbow,  "The  shot  that  struck  me 
down  was  the  best  ever  fired  for  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy, for  I  possessed  in  no  degree  the  confidence  of 
this  Government,  and  now  a  man  who  does  enjoy  it 
will  succeed  me,  and  be  able  to  accomplish  what  I 
never  could." 

EMBITTERED    HIS    LIFE. 

The  consciousness  of  wrong  done  him,  and  of  the 
non-appreciation  by  his  Government,  bore  hardly  upon 
him  all  through  our  long  war,  and  was  a  misfortune 
for  him  and  for  our  cause,  and  embittered  his  life  to 
its  end.  Proud  and  unyielding  as  he  was  to  injustice, 
he  was  quick  and  gentle  in  his  symoathy  *or  all  that 
were  weak  and  unfortunate. 

For  over  fifty  years  he  was  the  tender,  devoted  lover 
of  his  wife,  and  was  always  true  and  affectionate  to  his 
kindred.  He  loved  young  people  and  drew  them  to  him. 
He  yearned  for  children  of  his  own.  He  and  my 
children  were  fervent  friends.  Only  a  few  month's  ago 
he  said  to  me :  '  'You  are  truly  blessed  in  your  children," 
and  it  will  ever  be  their,  and  my  consolation,  that  we 
enjoyed  his  affection,  for  he  was  the  honestest,  bravest, 
and  gentlest  gentleman  who  ever  gave  us  his  trust  and 
love. 

A    STUDENT    OF    HISTORY. 

To  the  end  of  his  life  he  was  a  student  of  history 
bearing  upon  his  profession.  During  the  past  few 


306  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

months  I  found  him  reading  memoirs  of  Tamerlane 
(Timur  the  Tartar),  of  which  he  read  me  nine  striking 
pages,  as  on  another  day  he  read  me  with  great  feeling 
"Thiers'  narrative  of  the  last  days  of  Napoleon  at  St. 
Helena." 

And  the  very  last  day  I  saw  him — the  last  on  which 
he  left  his  chamber — I  found  him  with  DuGuesclin 
open  before  him. 

WE    WILL    MEET    AGAIN. 

His  disease  had  then  become  very  grave  and  distress- 
ing. I  sat  by  him  but  a  short  time,  and  expecting  to  go 
on  a  long  journey  next  day  I  told  him  so,  and  said 
good-by.  He  crew  me  to  him,  kissed  my  cheek,  then 
again  kissed  my  lips  tenderly  as  a  father.  I  said: 
"We  will  meet  again  soon  if  the  yellow  fever  don't 
carry  me  off." 

He  said,  with  strong  emotion  and  emphasis:  "Yes, 
we  will  surely  meet  again."  I  never  saw  him  any  more. 

DABNEY  H.  MAURY. 


REMINISCENCES    OF    COL.  ARCHER    ANDERSON.      307 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

REMINISCENCES    OF    COL.    ARCHER    ANDERSON. 

\/OU  ask  me  to  give  you  some  recollections  of  my 
1  intercourse  with  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston.  I  shall 
not  attempt  any  formal  estimate  of  his  character  as  a 
commander  of  armies.  That  could  only  be  undertaken 
after  a  careful  review  of  all  his  campaigns.  I  will 
endeavor  merely  to  recall  some  incidents,  and  conversa- 
tions, which  may  help  to  portray  the  inner,  personal 
nature  of  the  man,  who  was  generally  known  to  his 
countrymen  only  under  the  soldier's  stern  exterior.  , 

The  circumstances  of  Gen.  Johnston's  early  years 
were  such  as  strongly  to  encourage  the  martial  instincts 
which  he  inherited  at  his  birth.  To  the  end  of  his  life 
he  was  accustomed  to  talk  with  pride  of  his  father's 
distinguished  service  in  the  Revolutionary  War  as  an 
officer  of  Lee's  legion,  and  he  would  tell  the  story  of 
the  campaign  in  the  Carolinas,  as  he  heard  it  from  Peter 
Johnston's  lips,  with  all  the  fire  that  marked  his  own 
descriptions  of  Cerro  Gordo  or  Chapultepec. 

The  incidents  of  the  war  of  1812-15  in  America,  and 
the  distant  reverberation  of.  Waterloo,  doubtless  stirred 
the  boy's  heart,  and,  indeed,  I  once  heard  him  describe 
to  a  child  with  some  humor  how  in  his  seventh  or  eighth 
year  he  first  proclaimed  his  purpose  to  be  a  soldier  by 
appropriating  the  sword  and  part  of  the  uniform  of  some 
kinsman,  fresh  from  the  field,  and  taking  instant  com- 
mand of  a  troop  of  young  servants. 


308  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

The  love  of  war  was  in  his  Scotch  blood.  And  he 
always  kindled  at  any  mention  of  Scotland  or  Scottish 
men.  Once,  in  discussing  with  him  the  different  charac- 
teristics of  European  soldiers,  somebody  said  that,  after 
all,  the  English  soldier  was  the  stoutest  Europe  had 
seen  since  Caesar's  legionaries. 

"I  think  the  Scotch  the  best,"  the  General  quickly 
rejoined,  with  that  slight  toss  of  the  head,  with  which  he 
sometimes  emphasized  the  expression  of  an  opinion  he 
was  ready  to  do  battle  for.  He  was  proud  of  his  Scotch 
descent,  tracing  close  kinship  with  the  family  from 
which  sprang  the  historian,  Robertson,  Lord  Brougham, 
Patrick  Henry,  and,  I  believe  I  may  add,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. A  visit,  which  he  was  able  to  make  to  Scotland 
a  few  years  after  the  close  of  our  late  war,  was  ever 
afterwards  a  subject  he  loved  to  talk  about.  The  low- 
land country,  as  the  home  of  his  ancestors,  and  its 
remains  of  strongholds,  attesting  the  martial  habits  of 
their  former  possessors,  had  a  peculiar  charm  for  him; 
and  it  was  only  a  year  ago  that,  after  an  animated  con- 
versation about  these  things,  I  heard  him  murmuring  in 
a  soft,  clear  voice: 

"Within  the  bounds  of  Annandale 
The  gentle  Johnstones  ride  ; 
They  have  been  there  a  thousand  years, 
A  thousand  more  they'll  bide." 

Not  till  many  months  afterwards  did  I  learn  where 
these  lines  came  from.  Walter  Scott  wrote  them  as  a 
motto  for  one  of  the  chapters  of  the  "Fair  Maid  of 
Perth,  and,  when  I  found  them  there,  all  of  the  Gen- 


REMINISCENCES    OF    COL.    ARCHER    ANDERSON.      309 

eral's  great  love  of  Sir  Walter  was  agreeably  recalled. 
It  was  delightful  to  hear  him  describe  the  arrival  of  the 
first  Waverley  novels  in  his  father's  quiet  country  home. 
The  family  circle  would  quickly  form  around  the  blazing 
wood  fire,  one  of  the  elder  brothers  would  begin  to  read 
aloud  the  entrancing  story,  and  the  interruption  of  the 
summons  to  supper  or  bed  was  always  met  with  a  gen- 
eral murmur.  It  was  touching  to  see  the  old  soldier,  in 
his  84th  year,  comparing  favorite  passages  with  a  little 
girl  of  thirteeen,  but  lately  introduced  to  Scott's  magic 
world.  Love  of  Sir  Walter  at  once  broke  down  all 
barriers  between  these  representatives  of  the  two 
extremes  of  life,  and  from  that  moment  they  were  fast 
friends. 

The  General's  father  and  elder  brothers  were  men  of 
uncommon  ability  and  culture,  and  the  intellectual  and 
moral  training  he  received  at  home  was  no  bad  prepara- 
tion for  a  great  career.  In  that  circle,  the  "best  that 
had  been  said  and  done  in  the  world"  was  often  read 
aloud  and  discussed.  It  was  there  the  General  got  his 
love  "for  some  of  the  great  masterpieces  of  literature. 
Schliemann  himself  was  not  a  greater  enthusiast  about 
Homer.  The  old  soldier  talked  about  the  heroes  of  the 
Iliad,  as  if  he  had  fought  at  their  sides.  Diomed  was 
his  favorite. 

It  was  the  heroic  fibre  in  him  that  was  strung  into 
tension  at  every  contact  with  greatness,  in  fiction  or 
history. 

He  had  a  definite  image,  in  his  mind's  eye,  of  every 
soldier  who  had  played  a  great  part  in  the  world,  and 


310  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

he  talked  about  each  one,  from  Alexander  to  Napoleon, 
with  criticism  as  discriminating,  and  feeling  as  deep  as 
contemporaries  would  have  called  forth.  His  conception 
of  the  qualities  necessary  to  form  a  soldier  of  the  first 
rank  was  so  exalted  that,  when  he  found  one,  he  could 
not  tolerate  the  idea  that  such  greatness  could  be  coupled 
with  weakness  or  crime.  Hence,  he  never  forgave 
Macaulay  for  blackening  Marlborough,  or  Lanfrey  and 
the  radical  school  for  belittling  Napoleon. 

There  never  was  a  soldier,  perhaps,  who  delighted 
more  in  the  habitual  contemplation  of  the  great  examples 
of  military  conduct  which  fill  the  annals  of  war.  And 
nature  had  so  endowed  him,  in  heart  and  soul  and  body, 
that  he  was  fit  to  be  moulded  by  such  examples. 

We  had  been  discussing  Napoleon  one  day,  ana 
something  was  said  about  the  number  of  times  the 
Emperor  had  been  wounded.  "Let  me  show  you,"  he 
said,  "what  Thiers  says  about  the  marks  of  wounds 
found  on  his  body,"  and  with  that  he  read  aloud  Thiers' 
touching  description  of  Napoleon's  death  in  tones  that 
cannot  easily  be  forgotten.  Tears  were  streaming 
down  his  face  when  he  closed  the  book. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  that  his  knowledge  of 
military  history  was  minute  and  profound.  In  his  old 
age  reading  had  become  physically  burdensome,  and  he 
did  not  care  much  for  new  books.  But  his  mind  easily 
reproduced  all  he  had  read  in  his  younger  days.  I  was 
trying  to  get  him  to  look  into  some  parts  of  Carlyle's 
"Frederick"  without  much  success,  and  offered  to  read 
to  him  one  of  his  battle  pieces.  "Stop, "he  said,  "I 


Kh.MiMSCENCES    OF    COL.   ARCHER    ANDERSON.      3!! 

have  not  read  about  that  battle  for  thirty  years,  but  I 
think  I  can  show  you  exactly  the  position  and  move- 
ments of  the  armies."  Then,  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word,  he  got  down  on  the  floor  and,  taking  books  from 
the  table,  displayed  all  the  evolutions  of  the  Prussians 
at  Leuthen. 

In  his  early  years  in  the  army  be  had  been  a  great 
student.  He  had,  after  leaving  West  Point,  read  in  the 
original  most  of  the  great  Latin  authors, -and  in  transla- 
tions the  principal  Greek  classics.  With  these  he  com- 
bined a  great  deal  of  history  and,  particularlyj  military 
history. 

He  was  exceedingly  fond  of  the  older  French  memoirs, 
of  which  his  library  contained  some  fine  copies.  One 
visitor  in  the  last  two  weeks  of  his  life  found  him  read- 
ing the  memoirs  of  Sully,  another,  the  life  of  Du 
Guesclin.  Du  Guesclin  was  one  of  his  favorite  heroes. 
How  he  loved  to  tell  that  story  of  the  commander  of  a 
besieged  fort,  who  would  yield  his  sword  only  to  Du 
Guesclin's  dead  body  ! 

But  all  this  ardor  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  was 
coupled  with  an  equal  love  for  out-door  occupations,  for 
riding  and  shooting  and  all  martial  exercises.  Though 
of  short  stature,  he  had  great  muscular  development  and 
activity. 

The  story  used  to  be  current  at  Centreville  in  1861, 
that  he  and  Beauregard,  returning  to  their  quarters  in  a 
farm-house,  had  been  seen  to  vault  over  the  paling  that 
surrounded  it.  He  had  that  love  of  wielding  weapons, 
which  would  have  fitted  him  to  lead  men  in  battle,  in  the 


312  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

days  when  commanders  of  armies  fought  with  their  own 
hands,  and  he  had  a  specially  tender  feeling  for  generals 
whose  foible  was  to  dash  foremost  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fight.  How  often  was  this  trait  of  Prince  Eugene 
on  his  lips! 

His  love  of  arms  and  armour  was  always  very 
striking.  As  Sir  Walter  Scott's  first  excursion  on 
reaching  Rome  was  to  the  neighboring  feudal  castle  of 
Bracciano,  so  the  General's  liveliest  reminiscence  of 
Paris  was  of  the  collections  of  the  Musee  d'  Artillerie. 
And  later,  I  remember  the  delight  with  which  he 
showed  a  richly  illustrated  history  of  arms  and  armour, 
which  he  had  picked  up  at  some  cost  in  New  York.  So 
his  anecdotes  of  shooting  and  hunting  in  the  Wild  West 
were  told  with  the  zest  of  the  keenest  sportsman. 

His  service  in  the  old  army  had  made  him  familiar 
with  most  parts  of  the  United  States.  The  long  span 
of  his  life  connected  periods  very  far  apart  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  country,  and  it  was  interesting  to  hear 
his  descriptions  of  different  stages  of  this  progress. 
The  story  of  the  movement  of  his  company  from  Fort 
Monroe  to  the  theatre  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  and  its 
return,  with  all  the  details  of  the  route,  was  one  of  these. 
In  coming  back  the  company  marched  from  the  Ohio 
across  Virginia  to  Richmond,  the  officers,  of  course,  on 
foot  like  their  men.  On  the  last  day's  march,  some 
gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood  went  to  meet  the  troops 
at  a  famous  tavern,  thirteen  miles  from  Richmond,  and 
invited  Lieutenant  Johnston  to  remain  with  them  to 
dinner.  He  accepted  their  hospitality,  but  was  obliged 


REMINISCENCES    OF    COL.   ARCHER    ANDERSON.       313 

to  overtake  his  company,  which  was  to  embark  the  next 
morning  at  Rocketts,  by  a  night  march  in  a  driving  rain 
to  Richmond.  So  ended  in  storm  and  mud  the  in- 
glorious Black  Hawk  campaign;  but  the  General's 
account  of  his  share  in  it  gave  a  lively  picture  of  the 
aspect  of  the  country,  the  condition  of  the  people,  and 
the  means  of  travel  and  transportation  at  that  day. 

General  Johnston  had  not  the  arts  of  popularity.  His 
nature  was  too  reserved  to  admit  of  that  frank  and  ready 
speech,  which  wins  immediate  access  to  every  heart. 
He  gave  his  confidence  slowly,  and  was  not  accustomed 
to  disclose  his  inmost  thoughts,  except  to  those  whom  he 
counted  as*  personal  friends.  These  knew  the  warmth 
and  depth  of  his  affections,  his  tenderness,  his  love  of 
children,  his  unostentatious  benevolence,  and  above  all 
the  constancy  and  fidelity  of  his  nature.  And  they 
loved  him  all  the  more,  perhaps,  for  certain  peculiarities 
of  speech  and  temper,  which  sometimes  gave  offence; 
for  these  showed  that  the  hero  had  points  of  contact  and 
sympathy  with  ordinary  humanity.  There  are  char- 
acters so  perfect  as  to  produce  around  them  an  atmos- 
phere of  coldness  and  constraint.  General  Johnston 
was  not  one  of  these.  Though  slow  to  form  friendships, 
he  was  altogether  hearty  and  human  in  his  intercourse 
with  men.  He  loved  good  cheer,  he  enjoyed  a  glass  of 
wine,  and  his  conversation  at  a  dinner-table  with  con- 
genial companions  was  often  fascinating  and  memorable. 
His  speech  was  measured  and  never  quite  fluent;  but 
the  fitting  word  was  always  found,  the  thought  was 
clear  and  its  expression  terse  and  striking.  Upon  any 


314  LIFE    OK    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

subject  which  had  engaged  his  intellect  and  feelings  he 
was  an  effective  talker,  and,  as  the  good  bishop  said  of 
Macaulay,  it  was  generally  safer  to  agree  with  him  at 
once — you  were  pretty  certain  to  have  to  do  so  in  the 
end. 

But  this,  in  truth,  was  only  another  aspect  of  those 
qualities  which  made  him  a  soldier.  A  soldier  must 
see  one  side  very  clearly,  and  believe  in  one  course 
very  firmly.  There  must  not  be  much  room  in  his 
mind  for  refinements  or  reservations.  And  so,  natur- 
ally, it  was  the  General's  military  talk  which  was  the 
most  charming.  Whether  on  the  march,  or  at  the 
rough  camp  table,  or  at  some  luxurious  Board  in  the 
piping  times  of  peace,  he  could  always  be  drawn  out 
by  a  skilful  question  or  two,  into  most  abundant  and 
instructive  criticism  and  narrative  of  great  campaigns. 

To  the  general  public,  his  manner  had  in  it  some- 
thing liiat  was  austere,  and  sometimes  abrupt.  This 
did  not  impair  his  influence  with  soldiers.  Even  in 
this  democratic  country,  citizen  soldiers  did  not  expect 
from  their  commanders  the  conciliatory  manners  of 
politicians.  They  divined  at  once,  under  Gen.  John- 
ston's martial  bearing,  the  stout  soldier  and  daring 
leader.  They  soon  recognized  his  protecting  care  for 
their  comfort,  his  forethought  and  justice,  and  were  at 
once  inspired  with  confidence  in  his  powers  of  com- 
mand. There  was  about  him  an  air  of  strength  and 
daring,  which  promptly  invigorated  his  followers.  This 
was  strikingly  displayed  at  Dalton,  Georgia,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1863. 


REMINISCENCES   OF   COL.  ARCHER    ANDERSON.      315 

The  Army  of  Tennessee  was  demoralized  by  recent 
disaster  at  Missionary  Ridge  When  Johnston  assumed 
command,  confidence  and  military  spirit  instantly  re- 
vived. And  all  this  came  about  without  any  display, 
or  boastful  promises  on  the  part  of  the  commander. 
The  army  felt  that  a  bold  heart  and  penetrating  mind 
would  bring  to  bear  upon  its  fortunes  the  highest  mili- 
tary skill  and  the  most  patriotic  devotion. 

If  this  was  the  effect  he  produced  upon  his  own 
troops,  the  respect  he  at  once  inspired  in  the  enemy's 
ranks  was  equally  marked.  Nothing  is  more  striking 
than  the  uniform  testimony  of  Gen.  Sherman  and  all 
his  officers',  to  Johnston's  signal  merits  as  a  commander. 

And  the  same  opinion  has  prevailed  amongst  the 
best  foreign  military  critics.  The  estimate  of  Chesney, 
placing  him  by  the  side  of  Turenne,  is  well  known. 
The  Cornte  de  Paris  had  an  equally  high  admiration  of 
him,  which  he  gracefully  manifested  in  his  recent  tour 
in  this  country,  by  making  to  Gen.  Johnston,  at  his 
home  in  Washington,  the  only- visit  he  paid,  except  to 
Gens.  Sherman  and  Schofield.  Gen.  Johnston  was  not 
at  home;  but  he  afterwards  met  the  French  Prince  at 
Richmond  and  Philadelphia,  and  received  from  him 
marks  of  the  greatest  deference  and  respect.  And  the 
Count,  who  has  shown  the  most  soldierly  and  liberal 
spirit  in  recognizing  the  military  merit  of  Confederates, 
as  entitled  to  equal  consideration  with  that  of  their  late 
antagonists,  has  earned  for  himself  the  thanks  of  all 
Southern  soldiers  by  the  generous  and  sympathetic 
utterances  which  the  death  of  Gen.  Johnston  drew  from 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH     K.    JOHNSTON. 

him.  These  were  in  keeping  with  the  high  admiration 
he  showed  for  him  in  life.  At  a  dinner  given  by  a 
distinguished  Federal  General,  at  which  a  number  of 
famous  Northern  officers  were  present,  the  only  toast 
the  Comte  de  Paris  gave  was  to  Gen.  Johnston — the 
chivalrous  Frenchman,  who  had  fought  against  him, 
making  it  a  point,  when  thus  surrounded  by  Northern 
officers,  to  propose  the  health  of  the  old  hero  of  the 
South. 

The  strangers  .rom  other  lands,  who  saw  him  then  for 
the  first  time,  were  amazed  to  learn  that  he  would  soon 
complete  his  84th  year.  There  was  surely  a  rare  union 
in  Gen.  Johnston  of  physical  and  mental  vigor.  Never 
was  healthy  mind  lodged  in  a  healthier  body.  Though 
that  body  was  riddled  with  bullets,  no  unsound  spot  was 
ever  developed  in  it  till  the  labor  of  four  score  years 
was  done. 

During  the  war  he  sustained  all  sorts  of  fatigues  and 
hardships  as  easily  as  the  youngest  of  his  followers.  He 
was,  at  all  times,  the  very  type  of  a  hardy  soldier;  and 
the  idea  would  often  come  into  the  minds  of  those  about 
him  that  the  men  who,  with  the  Roman  short  sword 
conquered  the  world,  must  have  looked  like  him.  It 
was  this  martial  bearing  that  at  once  won  the  hearts  of 
soldiers.  It  conveyed  an  instantaneous  impression  of 
his  most  marked  characteristic — indomitable  courage. 
Few  men  ever  had  such  a  look  in  battle.  The  flashing 
of  his  eye,  and  the  movements  of  his  body,  were  more 
potent  commands  than  any  spoken  words.  Never  was 
warlike  temper  more  visibly  stamped  on  face,  gesture 


REMINISCENCES   OF  COL.  ARCHER    ANDERSON.      317 

and  bearing  than  in  the  person  of  this  grand  leader,  in 
the  crisis  of  action.  To  see  him,  then,  was  to  receive 
a  new  impulse  to  battle. 

Such  were  some  of  the  elements  out  of  which  that  rare 
product — a  man  fit  to  lead  armies —  was  formed.  Only 
a  few  such  men  are  born  in  a  century.  If,  in  1870, 
France  had  possessed  one  such,  there  would  have  been 
defeat,  perhaps,  but  no  disgrace.  'No  army  would  have 
been  lost;  every  inch  of  ground  would  have  been  con- 
tested; and,  before  the  siege  of  Paris  could  have  been 
formed,  new  levies,  rallying  about  a  nucleus  of  veterans, 
would  have  reversed  the  balance  of  numerical  superi- 
ority. The  capital  and  the  military  honor  of  France 
would  have  been  saved. 

For  these  reasons,  then — even  if  affection  and  pride 
were  dead  in  us — such  a  soldier  should  not  lack  endur- 
ing commemoration.  The  safety  of  the  country  can 
never  be  assured  if  each  generation  shall  not  produce 
one  such  hero  to  lead  her  armies  in  the  day  of  peril. 

And  to  cherish  the  fame  of  the  great  and  good  com- 
mander is  to  transmit  to  posterity  the  high  thoughts  and 
feelings  which  in  each  age  are  needed  to  warm  into  life 
every  latent  germ  of  military  virtue. 

ARCHER  ANDERSON. 


3l8  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


T 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    RICHMOND    MEMORIAL    MEETING. 

HE    Johnston    meeting    held    at    the    Chamber    of 
Commerce    yesterday    evening,   was    thoroughly 
representative  of  all  classes  of  Richmond's  citizens. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Judge  George 
L.  Christian,  on  whose  motion,  Mayor  J.  T.  Ellyson 
was  elected  chairman. 

Mayor  Ellyson,  on  taking  the  chair,  said  he  had 
called  the  meeting  at  the  request  of  Lee  Camp,  Con 
federate  Veterans,  to  take  suitable  action  to  secure  the 
removal  of  the  remains  of  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  to 
Richmond.  'He  did  not  hesitate  to  comply  with  the 
request  and  issue  the  call,  for  he  felt  that  in  so  doing 
he  was  but  carrying  out,  and  indeed,  anticipating  the 
wishes  of  the  citizens  of  Richmond,  who  he  knew  would 
endorse  any  action  of  the  meeting,  looking  to  the  end  in 
view. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  W.  L.  White,  Judge  George  L. 
Christian  was  elected  secretary. 

It  was  moved  and  carried,  that  a  committee  on  resolu- 
tions be  appointed,  and  the  Chair  announced  the 
following:  Major  Robert  Stiles,  Colonel  W.  H.  Palmer, 
Colonel  Alexander  Archer,  Judge  E.  C.  Minor,  and 
Mr.  Joseph  H.  Thomas. 

BEAUTIFUL    RESOLUTIONS    REPORTED. 

The  committee,  after  consultation,  reported  through 
Major  Stiles  the  following: 


THE    RICHMOND    MEMORIAL    MEETING.  319 

Virginia  mourns  the  last  of  her  great  soldier  trium- 
virate, Jackson,  Lee,  Johnston — all  stainless,  each  one 
as  good  as  great. 

Within  a  year  after  he  drew  aside  the  veil  that  hid 
the  image  of  the  God-like  Lee,  Johnston  himself  passed 
from  us,  and  beyond  that  greater  veil  the  three  Christian 
heroes  have  entered  upon  immortal  comradeship.  Weep- 
ing Virginia,  though  Rachel-like,  lamenting  her 
children  because  they  are  not,  may  yet  lift  her  bowed 
head  with  this  proud  reflection :  Even  in  these  degener- 
ate days  have  I  borne  peerless  sons,  and,  wrhile  in  some 
sense  I  must  give  them  up,  yet  are  they  mine  forever. 

More  essentially,  perhaps,  than  any  other  great 
American,  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  the  soldier — the 
trained,, professional  soldier.  As  such,  he  was  less  per- 
fectly in  touch  with  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  in  pro- 
portion to  his  merit  less  appreciated  by  them  than  were 
most  of  the  other  heroes  of  the  war.  The  Christian 
civilization  of  to-day  rightly  yearns  for  peace,  but 
wrongly  refuses  to  estimate  fairly  the  greatness  that  is 
born  of  the  profession  of  arms  alone.  A  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  as  the  majestic  figures  of  our  great 
generals  emerged  from  the  smoke  of  battle,  and  moved 
out  from  the  soldier  life,  from  camp  and  march  and 
field,  into  the  unromantic  walks  of  our  selfish,  scheming 
business  world,  men  marveled  at  them  as  anomalies,  and 
demanded  "whence  have  mere  soldiers  these  character- 
istics ;  this  purity  and  consecration,  this  majesty  and 
strength?"  Those  of  us  who  have  to  some  degree 
lived,  and  loved,  the  life  of  the  soldier  make  answer: 


32O  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

"These  men  were  cast  in  this  mould;  they  are  not 
anomalies,  but  the  lofty  yet  normal  outcome  of  a  grand 
system  of  physical  and  mental  and  moral  training." 
What,  then,  is  the  training  and  what  are  the  formative 
elements  of  this  life? 

ESSENTIAL    CHARACTER    OF    THE    SOLDIER    LIFE. 

We  answer:  The  essential  character  of  the  soldier 
life  is  "SERVICE" — its  all  pervading  law  is  "DuTY." 
Its  first  lesson  is  OBEDIENCE  unquestioning — its  last 
lesson  COMMAND  unquestioned.  Its  daily  discipline 
ACCOUNTABILITY  unceasing — its  final  burden  RESPON- 
SIBILITY unmeasured.  Its  every-day  experience  HARD- 
SHIPS, PERILS,  CRISES  unparalleled — its  compensation 
FIXED  PAY.  Its  inspiration  PROMOTION  FROM  ABOVE. 

Here  is  the  mould.  Does  it  not  prefigure  the  man 
we  mourn  and  honor  to-night?  His  purity,  his  loyalty, 
his  directness,  his  robustness,  his  majestic  simplicity, 
his  devotion  to  duty,  his  heroism  ?  Yes  !  God  made 
him  in  body,  mind  and  soul  a  youth  capable  of  respond- 
ing to  this  noble  training  and  absorbing  these  lofty 
influences;  but  they  made  him  the  man  and  the  hero 
he  was. 

Thus  was  he  soldier-trained  to  a  great  character  and 
a  grand  career,  to  a  majestic  manhood  and  a  mighty 
life,  but  his  spirit  soared  even  higher,  because  he  was 
also  God-created,  high-souled  and  broad-minded.  It  is 
noteworthy  how  his  soldier  training  and  his  soldier 
spirit  entered  into,  inspiring  or  modifying,  his  almost 
every  act  and  utterance,  and  yet  how  his  personal  eleva- 


THE    RICHMOND    MEMORIAL    MEETING.  321 

tion   and   breadth   bore   him   up,  and    away   above   and 
beyond  the  mere  soldier. 

FOUGHT    BRAVELY    UNDER    WHAT    HE    CONSIDERED 
INJUSTICE. 

Where  will  you  find  anything  finer  than  his  palliation 
of  the  failure  of  a  gallant  officer  (afterwards  prominent 
upon  the  Federal  side)  to  espouse  the  cause  of  his  native 
South,  upon  the  ground,  as  he  said,  that  his  friend  was 
essentially  a  soldier,  and  had  failed  to  secure  in  our 
service  the  rank  to  which  his  worth,  and  his  position,  in 
the  old  army  justly  entitled  him — all  unconscious  the 
while  of  the  noble  contrast  which  his  own  conduct 
presented  in  turning  his  back  upon  a  higher  position 
in  the  old  service  than  any  other  Southern  officer 
sacrificed,  and  never  sulking,  but  fighting  to  the  bitter 
end  under  what  he  considered  injustice  like  to  that 
which  repelled  his  friend? 

His  mere  intellectual  pre-eminence  does  not  even 
require  distinct  assertion.  Not  only  does  his  career 
throughout  bear  witness  to  it,  but  it  is,  perhaps,  not 
too  much  to  say  that  by  the  general  consensus  of  com- 
petent opinion  in  the  United  States,  North  and  South, 
Joseph  E.  Johnston  is  ranked  as  at  least  the  peer  of  any 
officer  upon  either  side  of  the  late  war,  not  in  intellect 
only,  but  in  all  the  learning  and  skill  of  his  profession. 
He  was  even  more  than  this.  It  is  questionable 
\vhether  there  can  be  found,  in  all  the  annals  of  war 
and  of  defeat,  a  sublimer  exhibition  of  imperturbable 
poise  of  soul  and  perfect  command  of  the  very  utmost  of 


322  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

one's  supremest  powers  than  is  furnished  by  Johnston's 
great  double  act  of  soldiership  and  statesmanship  in  the 
battle  of  Bentonville,  and  the  convention  with  Sherman. 
But  not  only  did  his  comprehensive  intelligence  and 
his  high-souled  strength  overlap  and  rise  above  the 
broad,  high  ideal  even  of  the  true  soldier — if  soldier 
only — but  his  heart  and  his  affections  were  so  rich  and 
so  loving  that  even  his  lion-like  masculinity  could  not 
banish  from  his  intercourse  with  his  family  and  his 
friends  a  tenderness  that  was  absolutely  womanly. 
Gen.  Dabney  Maury  says  he  kissed  him  upon  both 
cheeks  and  then  upon  his  lips  when  parting  with  him 
for  the  last  time.  It  was  one  of  his  peculiar  habits  to 
embrace  and  kiss  men  whom  he  specially  loved  and 
trusted.  He  was  not  only  affectionate  and  tender — "he 
of  the  lion  heart  and  hammer  hand"  and  body  battle- 
scarred — but  he  was  the  most  affectionate  and  the  most 
tender  of  men. 

WE  CRAVE  THE  NOBLE  BODY. 

Let  it  be  added,  to  complete  the  picture,  and  with  de- 
vout gratitude  to  Almighty  God,  that  he  who,  with  such 
compelling  will  and  such  a  mighty  hand,  controlled  and 
led  men,  followed  his  Divine  Master  with  the  humility 
and  the  confiding  trust  of  a  little  child ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  i,  That  in  the  life  of  Gen.  Joseph  Eggleston 
Johnston,  Virginia  recognizes,  with  paternal  pride,  the 
career  of  a  great  Christian  soldier  without  fear  and  with- 
out reproach,  and  full  of  well-earned  honors. 

2,  That,  in  his  death,  she  mourns  the  loss  of  one  of 
the  most  noble  and  the  most  loyal  of  all  her  heroic  sons. 

3,  That,  so  far  as  such  final  disposition  of  his  remains 


THE    RICHMOND    MEMORIAL    MEETING.  323 

can  be  harmonized  with  the  wishes  and  plans  of  the 
General's  family,  the  people  of  Richmond,  and,  we  are 
confident,  the  people  of  Virginia  as  well,  crave  the  noble 
body,  scarred  with  ten  honorable  wounds,  and  ask  that 
they  be  permitted  to  lay  it  reverently  to  rest  here,  in  his 
native  soil,  at  such  place  in  or  near  the  city  of  Rich- 
mond as  may  hereafter  be  determined  upon. 

4,  That  the  foregoing  minute  and  resolutions  be  com- 
municated to  the  family  of  Gen.  Johnston,  accompanied 
by  our  reverent  sympathies. 

MAJOR    STILES'S    REMARKS. 

Major  Stiles,  in  speaking  of  the  resolutions,  said  that 
Gen.  Johnston  was  the  grandest  man  he  had  ever  known, 
in  respect  of  personal  friendly  relations.  He  was,  how- 
ever, so  essentially  a  soldier,  that  he  was  not  in  touch 

v 

with  the  people,  and  was  not  esteemed  as  other  men 
were. 

The  speaker  believed  that  if  he  could  communicate 
with  the  old  hero,  he  would  thank  him  for  putting  before 
the  people  the  life  of  the  soldier.  Public  sentiment, 
continued  Major  Stiles,  does  not  do  justice  to  the  soldier. 
The  whole  force  of  modern  society  is  given  to  the 
accumulation  of  wealth.  The  soldier  never  accumu- 
lates. It  was  contended  that  the  time  of  the  soldier  had 
passed.  This  is  not  true.  All  civilization  is  born  of  the 
blood  of  the  soldier,  and  founded  on  the  bullet,  and  the 
sword.  The  Christian  civilization  is  iron-bound, 
and  will  be  until  the  millennium.  The  contrary  idea 
was  a  false  representation  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  speaker  showed  how  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  Havelock, 
Chinese  Gordon,  Jackson,  Lee,  and  others  were  not 
anomalies,  but  the  development  of  the  soldier  life,  and 


324  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

drew  a  striking  picture  of  Gen.  Johnston — the  soldierly 
type. 

INFINITE    AND    ABSOLUTE    COURAGE. 

He  was,  Major  Stiles  said,  the  embodiment  of  infinite 
and  absolute  courage.  There  was  as  much  courage 
and  nobility  in  his  small  frame  as  could  have  been 
packed  in  that  of  a  man  of  six  feet  six  inches.  The 
life  of  a  soldier  was,  said  Major  Stiles,  service.  He 
was  cut  off  from  everything  that  others  enjoy.  It  was 
a  priesthood  of  consecration.  He  was  separate  from  the 
people,  from  their  aims,  and  from  their  ambitions, 
standing  way  off  on  the  frontier,  protecting  the  State  and 
the  women  and  children. 

DUTY. 

As  for  duty,  the  soldier  had  put  that  word  where  it 
never  was  before,  and  he  obeyed,  because  those  above 
him  had  a  right  to  command.  There  was,  asserted  the 
speaker,  no  more  important  lesson  for  the  people  to  learn 
than  that  of  obedience.  The  centurion  had  given  the 
best  analysis  of  obedience. 

Major  Stiles  then  attested  to  the  responsibilities  of  the 
military  life,  and  showed  how  Gen.  Johnston  measured 
up  to  the  full  standard  of  all  that  combined  to  constitute 
the  ideal  soldier. 

NO  POLITICIAN. 

The  speaker's  description  of  what  difficulties  he  and 
others  encountered  in  trying  to  make  a  politician  of  Gen. 
Johnston  was  very  amusing;  and,  in  this  connection,  he 
told  some  anecdotes,  at  the  expense  of  himself  and 


THE    RICHMOND    MEMORIAL    MEETING.  325 

friends,  which    illustrated   Gen.   Johnston's  straightfor- 
wardness, that  provoked  bursts  of  merriment. 

Gen.  Johnston,  added  Major  Stiles,  was  one  of  the 
most  charming  conversationalists  he  had  ever  heard 
talk,  and  was  the  most  affectionate  and  lovable  man  he 
had  ever  met.  He  had  often  kissed  the  speaker,  and 
it  was  his  habit,  whenever  he  parted  from  a  family,  to 
kiss  the  younger  members.  Major  Stiles's  description 
of  his  last  interview  with  Gen.  Johnston  was  so  pathetic 
as  to  draw  tears  from  the  eyes  of  all  present. 

AN    ELOQUENT    AND    TENDER    TRIBUTE. 

Major  Stiles  spoke  for  half  an  hour,  perhaps,  and 
nothing  short  of  a  verbatim  report  of  his  remarks  could 
convey  anything  like  an  adequate  impression  of  his 
eloquence  and  tenderness  in  his  reference  to  his  old 
commander  and  friend. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Major  Stiles's  remarks,  the  reso- 
lutions were  unanimously  adopted. 

Capt.  Louis  Bosseiux  spoke  briefly  regarding  his  old 
friend,  after  which  the  meeting  adjourned. 


326  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

REMINISCENCES    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON,    BY 
A    NORTHERN    SOLDIER. 

This  story  is  credited  to  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  and 
to  several  officers  who  were  musketry  instructors  in  their 
younger  days,  and  who  held  leading  commands  on 
different*  sides  during  our  civil  war.  On  getting  into 
hot  corners,  when  the  enemy's  balls  were  flying  close 
around  their  heads,  they  would  say:  "Disgusting! 
Really,  now,  less  accuracy  than  in  the  old  buck  and 
ball  period.  It  is  too  bad!  Too  bad!  No  improve- 
ment at  all.  Won't  they  ever  learn  to  gauge  distances? 
A  shameless  waste  of  good  ammunition,  that's  what  it  is. 
Confounded  carelessness!" 

With  Grant,  Gen.  Sheridan  was  the  least  fidgety  of 
men  under  fire ;  and  as  to  Custer,  he  really  seemed  to 
like  such  abnormal  conditions.  It  would  be  invidious 
to  signal  out  any  one  on  either  side  for  coolness  in 
action;  nevertheless,  the  peculiar  idiosyncracies  of  the 
late  Confederate  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  were  con- 
spicuous. He  was  noted  for  absolute  indifference  to 
lead.  ''You  can't  see  things,  gentlemen,  in  their 
proper  light,"  Gen.  Johnston  would  say  to  his  staff, 
"unless  we  get  much  closer — quite  close,  in  fact,"  and 
close  to  the  line  of  fire  he  would  gp.  It  looked  as  if  he 
never  remembered  that  he  had  been  hit,  or  that  there 
was  any  risk  to  be  run. 


REMINISCENCES    OF    A    NORTHERN     SOLDIER.       327 

It  is  said,  that  at  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  where  he 
got  his  last  wound,  he  remarked,  after  he  had  reeled  in 
his  saddle:  "Quite  extraordinary!  It's  nothing,  gentle- 
men, I  assure  you;  not  worthy  of  comment.  I  think 
we  ought  to  move  up  a  little  closer.  If  a  surgeon  is 
within  call,  and  not  too  busy — at  his  convenience,  per- 
fect convenience — he  might  as  well  look  me  over."  If 
some  one  on  his  staff  had  not  just  then  caught  him,  the 
General  would  have  fallen  from  his  horse;  and,  even 
then,  he  made  a  little  deprecatory  gesture,  as  if  to  say, 
It  is  a  mere  trifle — of  no  possible  consequence. 

This  anecdote  is  authentic,  and  shows  how  modest  is 
true  courage,  and  how  it  may  have  a  ludicrous  side  to 
it.  Some  years  after  the  war,  at  a  family  dinner,  where 
there  were  present  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  and  a 
distinguished  officer,  in  the  regular  service,  who  was 
bravery  personified,  the  talk  was  about  the  Black  Hawk 
war. 

"I  think,"  said  Gen.  Johnston,  in  his  quiet  way,  "an 
Irish  private  soldier  was  the  most  amusingly  brave  man 
I  ever  heard  about.  It  seems,  or  I  have  been  told,  that 
there  were  six  men  surrounded  in  a  swamp  by  eighty 
odd  Indians.  The  soldiers  were  like  rats  in  a  trap,  up 
to  their  knees  in  a  swamp,  the  mud  of  such  tenacious 
ooze  that  they  couldn't  move.  During  the  first  five 
minutes  three  of  the  men  were  wounded.  It  was  cer- 
tain that  in  time  some  of  the  Indians  would  make  their 
way  in  the  rear  of  the  soldiers,  and  shoot  them  in  the 
back,  because  the  men  could  not  face  about.  There 
was  this  Irishman,  and  he  said  to  the  officer  in  charge: 


328  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.    JOHNSTON. 

'  Excusin'  the  libertee,  sor,  but  there's  a  bloody  mus- 
quiter  on  me  nose,  and  the  baste  won't  get  lose  of  me. 
Would  your  honor  kindly  brush  it  off,  bekase  my  arm 
is  kind  of  ripped  up  wid  a  ball,  and  if  I  move  it,  belike 
my  muskit  would  fall  in  the  mud  and  be  unsarviceable, 
and  she's  furnished  with  the  last  ca'tidge  in  the  sack? ' 
Every  one  of  those  six  men  thought  they  had  but  a  few 
minutes  more  to  live,  when,  just  then,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  there  happened  to  be  a  rescue.' 

"I  have  heard  that  story,  Gen.  Johnston,"  said  the 
listening  officer;  "only  you  forget  to  mention  one  thing, 
and  it  was  that  you  were  the  officer  in  charge  of  that 
party." 

Then  Gen.  Johnston  looked  quite  confused,  blushed 
and  said:  "That  may  be,  but  I  was  frightened,  sir. 
How  do  you  know  that  I  was  not?  I  think  I  was  in  a 
perfect  funk." 

During  the  evening  the  lady,  at  whose  house  they 
were  dining,  was  discussing  the  merits  of  kerosene 
lamps,  mineral  oils  having  been  about  that  time  brought 
into  use  in  the  South.  Gen.  Johnston's  opinion  was 
asked  about  them. 

"I  am  the  most  timid  man  in  the  world,"  said  the 
General,  "  and  dreadfully  afraid  of  a  kerosene  lamp. 
The  other  day  a  servant  put  one  in  my  room.  I  was 
but  half  dressed,  and  I  hurried  out  as  fast  as  I  could 
run.  I  knew  it  was  going  to  burst.  Then  think  of  it! 
The  very  next  night  some  kind  of  a  patent  kerosene 
lamp  was  sent  me  as  a  present,  and  the  donor  lit  it,  ex- 
p^ining  to  me  the  method  of  working  it.  Such  was  my 


REMINISCENCES    OF    A    NORTHERN    SOLDIER.        329 

nervousness  that  I  never  knew  he  was  talking  to  me. 
Later,  after  somebody  had  extinguished  the  lamp,  I  tried 
to  reason  out  to  myself  what  a  poltroon  I  was.  We  get 
hardened  in  time;  but,  I  assure  you,  nothing  would  ever 
induce  me  to  light  or  extinguish  a  kerosene  lamp.  I 
really  envy  you,  madam,  as  possessing  heroic  traits, 
when  you  tell  me  you  feel  no  alarm  when  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  kerosene  lamp.  But  I  am,  by  nature,  an 
arrant  coward.  An  enemy,  armed  with  kerosene  lamps, 
would  drive  me  off  the  field.  I  should  be  panic  per- 
sonified." 

All  this  was  said  with  such  an  air  of  conviction  as  to 
be  highly  amusing,  when  coming  from  the  lips  of  as 
brave  a  man  as  ever  lived.  B.  P. 


33°  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


APPENDIX     A. 


The  following  is  the  form  of  the  parole,  rxi-oik-d 
under  the  Convention  of  Durham : 

SALISBURY,  N.  C.,  May  2,  1865. 

In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  military  conven- 
tion, entered  into  on  the  26th  day  of  April,  1865, 
between  Gen.  Jos.  E.  Johnston,  commanding  the  Con- 
federate Army,  and  Major-Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman,  com- 
manding the  United  States  Army,  in  North  Carolina. 

Bradley  T.  Johnson,  Brig. -Gen.  C.  S.  A.,  has  given 
his  solemn  obligation  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly  released 
from  this  obligation,  and  is  permitted  to  return  to  his 
home,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United  States  authorities, 
so  long  as  he  observe  this  obligation,  and  obey  the  laws 
in  force  where  he  may  reside. 

FR.  EWD.  WOLCOTT, 
Major  and  J.  A.,  U.  S.  A.,  Special  Commission. 

BRADLEY  T.  JOHNSON, 
Brig. -Gen.  C.  S.  A.,  Commanding. 

HEADQUARTERS  \ 

ARMIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  > 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  30,  1866.      ) 

His  EXCELLENCY,  A.  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the   United  States : 

Sir — I  understand  from  Bradley  T.  Johnson,  late  of 
the  Southern  Army,  and  who  was  included  in  the 
paroled  officers,  under  the  convention  between  Gen.  W. 
T.  Sherman  and  Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston,  has  been  arrested 
in  the  State  of  Maryland  on  the  charge  of  treason,  for 
acts  committed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  in  1863. 
I  have  noticed  the  same  thing  from  the  newspapers. 


APPENDIX     A.  331 

There  is  nothing  clearer  in  my  mind,  than  that  the 
terms  of  the  paroles  given  by  officers  and  soldiers  who 
were  arrayed  against  the  authority  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  prior  to  their  surrender, 
exempts  them  from  trial  or  punishment  for  acts  of  legal 
warfare,  so  long  as  they  observe  the  conditions  of  their 
paroles. 

Gen.  Johnston  was  in  Maryland  by  express  authority 
from  these  headquarters.  I  would  now  ask,  as  a  point 
of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  government,  that  proper  steps 
be  taken  to  relieve  B.  T.  Johnson  from  the  obligations 
of  the  bonds  which  he  has  been  forced  to  give  in  the 
State  of  Maryland. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

U.S.  GRANT,  Lt.  General. 

The  above  was  written  by  Gen.  Grant,  and  delivered 
to  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  for  approval,  on  the  com- 
plaint by  th^  latter  of  the  arrest  in  Baltimore  of  one  of 
his  subordinates. 

The  above  copy  was  taken  and  the  original  delivered 
by  Hon.  D.  W.  Voorhees,  of  Indiana,  to  Hon.  Reverdy 
Johnson,  of  Maryland,  who  personally  delivered  it  to 
Andrew  Johnson.  The  statements  in  it  were  considered 
too  broad  and  embarrassing  to  the  Administration,  which 
then  contemplated  embarking  on  criminal  prosecutions, 
and  the  original  letter  was  withdrawn  from  the  files  of 
the  Executive  Department  and  another  substituted, merely 
asking  for  a  nolle  prosequi,  which  was  granted. 

But  Grant's  official  statement,  that  the  faith  of  the 
government  was  pledged  to  protect  against  all  pros- 
ecution, for  acts  of  legal  war,  all  paroled  officers  and 
soldiers,  was,  at  that  time,  considered  of  great  weight 
and  moment. 


332  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    K.  JOHNSTON. 

And  the  criminal  prosecution  was  stayed.  He  inter- 
posed in  the  same  way  for  the  protection  of  Col.  John 
S.  Mosby,  and  during  the  whole  of  that  trying  time  his 
assistance  was  never  invoked  by  any  one  who  had  the 
right  to  it,  without  being  liberally  and  without  delay, 
extended. 

If  the  first  convention  at  Durham's  station  was  in- 
tended by  Sherman  to  be  executed  in  good  faith,  it  was 
a  wise,  broad  measure;  if  it  was  intended  merely  as  a 
device  to  deceive  Johnston,  and  did  deceive  him,  the 
disgrace  and  dishonor  does  not  rest  on  Johnston's  brow. 


APPENDIX     B. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED     CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  CONFED- 
STATES  OF  AMERICA.*  ERATE  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


WE  the  People  of  the  United 
States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  Union,  establish  Jus- 
tice, insure  domestic  Tranquil- 
ity,  provide  for  the  common 
defence,  promote  the  general 
Welfare,  and  secure  the  Bles- 
sings of  Liberty  to  ourselves 
and  our  Posterity,  do  ordain 
and  establish  this  CONSTITU- 
TION for  the  United  States  of 
America. 


WE,  the  People  of  the  Confed- 
erate States,  each  State  acting 
in  its  sovereign  and  indepen- 
dent character,  in  order  to 
form  a  permanent  Federal 
Government,  establish  justice, 
insure  domestic  tranquility, 
and  secure  the  blessings  of 
liberty  to  ourselves  and  our 
posterity — invoking  .the  favor 
and  guidance  of  Almighty 
God — do  ordain  and  establish 
this  Constitution  for  the  Con- 
federate States  of  America. 


ARTICLE   I. 

SECTION  i.  All  legislative 
Powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  which  shall  consist  of 
a  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

SECTION  2.  The  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives shall  be  composed 
of  Members  chosen  every  second 
Year  by  the  People  of  the  several 
States,  and  the  Electors  in  each 
State  shall  have  the  Qualifica- 
tions requisite  for  Electors  of  the 


ARTICLE   I. 

SECTION  i.  All  legislative 
powers  herein  delegated  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  which  shall  con- 
sist of  a  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives. 

SECTION  2.  The  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives shall'  be  composed 
of  members  chosen  every  second 
year  by  the  people  of  the  several 
States  ;  and  the  electors  in  each 
State  shall  be  citizens  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  and  have  the 


*  This  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  original  in  punctuation,  spelling,  capitals,  etc. 

333 


334 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


most  numerous  Branch  of  the 
State  Legislature. 


No  Person  shall  be  a  Repre- 
sentative who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  Age  of  twenty- 
five  Years,  and  been  seven  Years 
a  Citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected, 
be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  in 
which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct 
Taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  which 
may  be  included  within  this 
Union,  according  to  their  respec- 
tive Numbers,*  which  shall  be 
determined  by  adding  to  the 
whole  Number  of  free  Persons, 
including  those  bound  to  Service 
for  a  term  of  Years,  and  exclud- 
ing Indians  not  taxed,  three- 
fifths  of  all  other  Persons. f  The 
actual  Enumeration  shall  be 
made  within  three  Years  after 
the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  and  within 
every  subsequent  Term  of  ten 
Years,  in  such  Manner  as  they 
shall  by  Law  direct.  The  Num- 
ber of  Representatives  shall  not 
exceed  one  for  every  thirty 
Thousand,  but  each  State  shall 
have  at  Least  one  Representa- 
tive ;  and  until  such  enumera 
tion  shall  be  made,  the  State  of 
New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled 


qualifications  requisite  for  elec- 
tors of  the  most  numerous 
branch  of  the  State  Legislature  ; 
but  no  person  of  foreign  birth, 
not  a  citizen  of  the  Confederate 
States,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote 
for  any  officer,  civil  or  political, 
State  or  Federal. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Repre- 
sentative who  shall  not  have 
attained  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years,  and  be  a  citizen  of  the 
Confederate  States,  and  who 
shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an 
inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which 
he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  tax- 
es shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States,  which  may  be 
included  within  this  Confeder- 
acy, according  to  their  respective 
numbers,  which  shall  be  de- 
termined by  adding  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  persons,  includ- 
ing those  bound  to  service  for  a 
term  of  years,  and  excluding 
Indians  not  taxed,  three  fifths  of 
all  slaves.  The  actual  enumera- 
tion shall  be  made  within  three 
years  after  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederate 
States,  and  within  every  subse- 
quent term  of  ten  years,  in  such 
manner  as  they  shall  by  law 
direct.  The  number  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  not  exceed  one 
for  every  fifty  thousand,  but 
each  State  shall  have  at  least  one 
Representative  ;  and  until  such 
enumeration  shall  be  made,  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  shall  be 
entitled  to  choose  six,  the  State 


*  Under  the  census  of    1860  on«  representative  is  allowed   for  every  127,381 
persons. 

t  "Other  persons"  refers  to  slaves.    Sec  Amendments,  Art.  XIV,  Sections  I  and  2. 


APPENDIX    B. 


335 


to  chuse  three,  Massachusetts 
eight,  Rhode-Island  and  Provi- 
dence Plantations  one,  Connect- 
icut five,  New  York  six,  New 
Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight, 
Delaware  one,  Maryland  six, Vir- 
ginia ten,  North  Carolina  five, 
South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia 
three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the 
Representation  from  any  State, 
the  Executive  Authority  thereof 
shall  issue  Writs  of  Election  to 
fill  such  Vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives 
shall  chuse  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers  ;  *  and  shall  have 
the  sole  Power  of  Impeachment. 


SECTION  3.  The  Senate  of 
the  United  States  shall  be  com- 
posed of  two  Senators  from  each 
State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature 
thereof,  for  six  Years  ;  and  each 
Senator  shall  have  one  Vote. 


Immediately  after  they  shall 
be  assembled  in  Consequence  of 
the  first  Election,  they  shall  be 
divided  as  equally  as  may  be 
into  three  Classes.  The  Seats 
of  the  Senators  of  the  first  Class 
shall  be  vacated  at  the  Expira- 
tion of  the  second  Year,  of  the 


of  Georgia  ten,  the  State  of  Ala- 
bama nine,  the  State  of  Florida 
two,  the  State  of  Mississippi 
seven,  the  State  of  Louisiana  six, 
and  the  State  of  Texas  six. 


When  vacancies  happen  in  the 
representation  from  any  State, 
the  Executive  authority  thereof 
shall  issue  writs  of  election  to 
fill  such  vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives 
shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers ;  and  shall  have 
the  sole  power  of  impeachment, 
except  that  any  judicial  or  other 
Federal  officer,  resident  and  act- 
ing solely  within  the  limits  of 
any  State,  may  be  impeached  by 
a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature 
thereof. 

SECTION  3.  The  Senate  of  the 
Confederate  States  shall  be  com- 
posed of  two  Senators  from  each 
State,  chosen  for  six  years  by  the 
Legislature  thereof,  at  the  regu- 
lar session  next  immediately 
preceding  the  commencement  of 
the  term  of  service ;  and  each 
Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall 
be  assembled,  in  consequence  of 
the  first  election,  they  shall  be 
divided  as  equally  as  may*  be 
into  three  classes.  The  seats  of 
the  Senators  of  the  first  class 
be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of 
the  second  year ;  of  the  second 


*  The  principal   of   these   are  the  clerk,  sergeant-at-arms,   door-keeper,   and 
postmaster, 


33^ 


LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


second  Class  at  the  Expiration 
of  the  fourth  Year,  and  of  the 
third  class  at  the  Expiration  of 
the  sixth  Year,  so  that  one-third 
may  be  chosen  every  second 
year;  and  if  Vacancies  happen 
by  Resignation,  or  otherwise, 
during  the  Recess  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  any  State,  the  Execu- 
tive thereof  may  make  tempo- 
rary Appointments  until  the 
next  Meeting  of  the  Legislature, 
which  shall  then  fill  such  Vacan 
cies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senatoi 
who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
Age  of  thirty  Years,  and  been 
nine  Years  a  Citizen  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  and  who  shall  not 
when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant 
of  that  State  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

The  Vice  President  qf  the  Uni- 
ted States  shall  be  President  of 
the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no 
Vote,  unless  they  be  equally 
divided. 

The  Senate  shall  chuse  their 
other  Officers,  and  also  a  Presi- 
dent pro  tempore,  in  the  absence 
of  the  Vice  President,  or  when 
he  shall  exercise  the  Office  of 
President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole 
Power  to  try  all  Impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  Purpose, 
they  shall  be  on  Oath  or  Affirma- 
tion. When  the  President  of  the 
United  State's  is  tried,  the  Chief 
Justice  shall  preside:  And  no 
Person  shall  be  convicted  with- 
out the  Concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  Members  present. 

Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeach- 
ment shall  not  extend  further 


class  at  the  expiration  of  the 
fourth  year ;  and  of  the  third 
class  at  the  expiration  of  the 
sixth  year ;  so  that  one  third 
may  be  chosen  every  second 
year;  and  if  vacancies  happen 
by  resignation  or  otherwise, 
during  the  recess  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  any  State,  the  Execu- 
tive thereof  may  make  tempo- 
rary appointments  until  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Legislature, 
which  shall  then  fill  such  vacan- 
cies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator 
who  shall  not  have  attained  the 
age  of  thirty  years,  and  be  a 
r.itizen  of  the  Confederate  States ; 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected, 
oe  an  inhabitant  of  the  State  for 
which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  Con- 
federate States  shall  be  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate,  but  shall 
have  no  vote  unless  they  be 
equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their 
other  officers ;  and  also  a  Presi- 
dent pro  tempore  in  the  absence 
of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he 
shall  exercise  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent of  the  Confederate  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole 
power  to  try  all  impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  purpose, 
they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirma- 
tion. When  the  President  of  the 
Confederate  States  is  tried,  the 
Chief-Justice  shall  preside  ;  and 
no  person  shall  be  convicted 
without  the  concurrence  of  two 
thirds  of  the  members  present. 
Judgment  in  cases  of  impeach- 
ment shall  not  extend  further 


APPENDIX    B. 


337 


than  to  removal  from  Office,  and 
Disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  Office  of  Honour, 
Trust  or.  Profit  under  the  United 
States  :  but  the  Party  convicted 
shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and 
subject  to  Indictment,  Trial, 
Judgment  and  Punishment, 
according  to  Law. 

SECTION  4.  The  Times,  Places 
and  Manner  of  holding  Elections 
for  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives, shall  be  prescribed  in  each 
State  by  the  Legislature  thereof: 
but  the  Congress  may  at  any 
time  by  Law  make  or  alter  such 
Regulations,  except  as  to  the 
places  of  chusing  Senators. 


The  Congress  shall  assemble 
at  least  once  in  every  Year,  and 
such  Meeting  shall  be  on  the 
first  Monday  in  December,  unless 
they  shall  by  Law  appoint  a 
different  Day. 

SECTION  5.  Each  House  shall 
be  the  Judge  of  the  Elections, 
Returns  and  Qualifications  of  its 
own  Members,  and  a  Majority  of 
each  shall  constitute  a  Quorum 
to  do  Business;  but  a  smaller 
Number  may  adjourn  from  day 
to  day,  and  may  be  authorized 
to  compel  the  Attendance  of 
absent  Members,  in  such  Man- 
ner, and  under  such  Penalties  as 
each  House  may  provide. 

Each  House  may  determine 
the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings, 
punish  its  Members  for  disor- 
derly Behaviour,  and,  with  the 
Concurrence  of  two-thirds,  ex- 
pel a  Member. 


than  to  removal  from  office,  and 
diqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy 
any  office  of  honor,  trust,  or 
profit,  under  the  Confederate 
States ;  but  the  party  convicted 
shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and 
subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judg- 
ment, and  punishment  according 
to  law. 

SECTION  4.  The  times,  place, 
and  manner  of  holding  elections 
for  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives, shall  be  orescribed  in  each 
State  by  the  Legislature  thereof, 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
Constitutions  ;  but  the  Congress 
may,  at  any  time,  by  law,  make 
or  alter  such  regulations,  except 
as  to  the  times  and  places  of 
choosing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble 
at  least  once  in  every  year ;  and 
such  meeting  shall  be  on  the 
first  Monday  in  December,  unless 
they  shall,  by  law,  appoint  a 
different  day. 

SECTION  5.  Each  House  shall 
be  the  judge  of  .the  elections, 
returns,  and  qualifications  of  its 
own  members,  and  a  majority  of 
each  shall  constitute  a  quorum 
to  do  business ;  but  a  smaller 
number  may  adjourn  from  day 
to  day,  and  may  be  authorized 
to  compel  the  attendance  of 
absent  members,  in  such  man- 
ner and  under  such  penalties  as 
each  house  may  provide. 

Each  House  may  determine 
the  rules  of  its  proceedings, 
punish  its  members  for  disor- 
derly behavior,  and,  with  the 
concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the 
whole  number,  expel  a  member. 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


Each  House  shall  keep  a  Jour- 
nal of  its  Proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same, 
excepting  such  Parts  as  may  in 
their  Judgment  require  Secrecy  ; 
and  the  Yeas  and  Nays  of  the 
Members  of  either  House  on  any 
question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of 
one-fifth  of  those  Present,  be 
entered  on  the  Journal. 

Neither  House,  during  th6  Ses- 
sion of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  Consent  of  the  other,  ad- 
journ for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  Place  than  that 
in  which  the  two  Houses  shall 
be  sitting. 

SECTION  6.  The  Senators  and 
Representatives  shall  receive  a 
Compensation  for  their  Services, 
to  be  ascertained  by  Law,  and 
paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States.  They  shall  in 
all  Cases,  except  Treason, Felony 
and  Breach  of  the  Peace,  be  privi- 
leged from  Arrest  during  their 
Attendance  at  the  Session  of 
their  respective  Houses,  and  in 
going  to  and  returning  from  the 
same ,  and  for  any  Speech  or 
Debate  in  either  House,  they 
shall  not  be  questioned  in  any 
other  Place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative 
shall,  during  the  time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to 
any  civil  Office  under  the  Author- 
ity of  the  United  States,  which 
shall  have  been  created,  or  the 
Emoluments  whereof  shall  have 
been  increased  during  such  time ; 
and  no  Person  holding  any  Office 
under  the  United  States,  shall  be 
a  Member  of  either  House  during 
his  Continuance  in  Office. 


Each  House  shall  keep  a  jour- 
nal of  its  proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  pnblish  the  same, 
excepting  such  parts  as  may  in 
their  judgment  require  secrecy; 
and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the 
members  of  either  House,  on  any 
question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of 
one  fifth  of  those  present,  be 
entered  on  the  journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  ses- 
sion of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  ad- 
journ for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  place  than  that 
in  which  the  two  Houses  shall 
be  sitting. 

SECTION  6.  The  Senators  and 
Representatives  shall  receive  a 
compensation  for  their  services, 
to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and 
paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
Confederate  States.  They  shall, 
in  all  cases,  except  treason,  fel- 
ony, and  breach  of  the  peace,  be 
privileged  from  arrest  during 
their  attendance  at  the  session 
of  their  respective  Houses,  and 
in  going  to  and  returning  from 
the  same  ;  and  for  any  speech  or 
debate  in  either  House,  they 
shall  not  be  questioned  in  any 
other  place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative 
shall,  during  the  time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to 
any  civil  office  under  the  author- 
ity of  the  Confederate  States, 
which  shall  have  been  created, 
or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall 
have  been  increased  during  such 
time ;  and  no  person  holding 
any  office  under  the  Confederate 
States  shall  be  a  member  of 
either  House  during  his  continu- 


APPENDIX    B. 


339 


SECTION  7.  All  Bills  for  raising 
Revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives ;  but 
the  Senate  may  propose  or  con- 
cur with  Amendments  as  on 
other  Bills. 

Every  Bill  which  shall  have 
passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Senate,  shall,  be- 
fore it  become  a  Law,  be  pre- 
sented to  the  President  of  the 
United  States ;  If  he  approve  he 
shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall 
return  it,  with  his  Objections  to 
that  House  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the 
Objections  at  large  on  their  Jour- 
nal, and  proceed  to  reconsider  it. 
If  after  such  Reconsideration 
two-thirds  of  that  House  shall 
agree  to  pass  the  Bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  Objec- 
tions, to  the  other  House,  by 
which  it  shall  likewise  be  recon- 
sidered, and  if  approved  by  two- 
thirds  of  that  House,  it.shall  be- 
come a  Law.  But  in  all  such 
Cases  the  Votes  of  Both  Houses 
shall  be  determined  by  Yeas  and 
Nays,  and  the  Names  of  the  Per- 
sons voting  for  and  against  the 
Bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  Jour- 
nal of  each  House  respectively. 
If  any  Bill  shall  not  be  returned 
by  the  President  within  ten  Days 
(Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall 
have  been  presented  to  him,  the 


ance  in  office.  But  Congress 
may,  by  law,  grant  to  the  princi- 
pal officer  in  each  of  the  execu- 
tive departments  a  seat  Ttpon  the 
floor  of  either  House,  with  the 
privilege  of  discussing  any  meas- 
ures appertaining  to  his  depart- 
ment. 

SECTION  7.  All  bills  for  raising 
the  revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  ;  but 
the  Senate  may  propose  or  con- 
cur with  amendments,  as  on 
other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have 
passed  both  Hotises,  shall,  before 
it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented 
to  the  President  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  ;  if  he  approve,  he 
shall  sign  it ;  but  if  not,  he  shall 
return  it^  with  his  objections,  to 
that  House  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the 
objections  at  large  on  their  jour- 
nal, and  proceed  to  reconsider  it. 
If,  after  such  reconsideration, 
two  thirds  of  that  House  shall 
agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  "with  the  objec- 
tions, to  the  other  House,  by 
which  it  shall  likewise  be  recon- 
sidered, and,  if  approved  by  two 
thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  be- 
come a  law.  But,  in  all  such 
cases,  the  votes  of  both  Houses 
shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and 
nays,  and  the  names  of  the  per- 
sons voting  for  and  against  the 
bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  jour- 
nal of  each  House,  respectively. 
If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned 
by  the  President  within  ten  days 
(Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall 
have  been  presented  to  him,  the 
same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like 


34° 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


Same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like 
Manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it, 
unless  the  Congress  by  their 
Adjournment  prevent  its  Return, 
in  which  Case  it  shall  not  be  a 
Law. 


Every  Order,  Resolution,  or 
Vote,  to  which  the  Concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  Ad- 
journment) shall  be  presented  to 
the  President  of  the  United 
States ;  and  before  the  Same 
shall  take  Effect,  shall  be  ap- 
proved by  him,  or  being  disap- 
proved by  him,  shall  be  repassed 
by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  ac- 
cording to  the  Rules  and  Limita- 
tions prescribed  in  the  Case  of  a 
Bill. 

SECTION  8.  The  Congress  shall 
have  Pow«r 

To  lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Du- 
ties, Imposts  and  Excises,  to 
pay  the  Debts  and  provide  for 
the  common  Defence  and  gen- 
eral Welfare  of  the  United 
States ;  but  all  Duties,  Imposts 
and  Excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States  ; 


manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it, 
unless  the  Congress,  by  their 
adjournment,  prevent  its  return  ; 
in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a 
law.  The  President  may  approve 
any  appropriation  and  disapprove 
any  other  appropriation  in  the 
same  bill.  In  such  case  he  shall, 
in  signing  the  bill,  designate  the 
appropriations  disapproved ;  and 
shall  return  a  copy  of  such  ap- 
propriations, with  his  objections, 
to  the  House  in  ivhich  the  bill 
shall  have  originated ;  and  the 
same  proceedings  shall  then  be 
had  as  in  case  of  other  bills  dis- 
approved by  the  President. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or 
vote,  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  both  Houses  may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  adjourn- 
ment), shall  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  Confederate 
States ;  and,  before  the  same 
shall  take  effect,  shall  be  ap- 
proved by  him  ;  or,  being  disap- 
proved, shall  be  repassed  by  two 
thirds  of  both  Houses,  according 
to  the  rules  and  limitations  pre- 
scribed in  case  of  a  bill. 


SECTION  8.  the  Congress  shall 
have  power — 

To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  du- 
ties, imposts,  and  excises,  for 
revenue  necessary  to  pay  the 
debts,  provide  for  the  common 
defense,  and  carry  on  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Confederate 
States ;  but  no  bounties  shall,  be 
granted  from  the  Treasury  ;  nor 
shall  any  duties  or  taxes  on  im- 
portations from  foreign  nations 


APPENDIX    B. 


I41 


To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit 
of  the  United  States  ; 

To  regulate  Commerce  with 
foreign  Nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  In- 
dian Tribes  ; 


To  establish  an  uniform  Rule 
of  Naturalization,  and  uniform 
Laws  on  the  subject  of  Bank- 
ruptcies throughout  the  United 
States ; 


To  coin  Money,  regulate  the 
Value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
Coin,  and  fix  the  Standard  of 
Weights  and  Measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  Punishment 
of  counterfeiting  the  Securities 
and  current  Coin  of  the  United 
States ; 


be  laid  to  promote  or  foster  any 
branch  of  industry ;  and  all  du- 
ties, imposts,  and  excises  shall  be 
.  uniform  throughout  the  Confed- 
erate States  : 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit 
of  the  Confedeate  States  : 

To  regulate  commerce  with 
foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  In- 
dian tribes  ;  but  neither  this,  nor 
any  other  clause  contained  in  the 
Constitution,  shall  ever  be  con- 
strued to  delegate  the  power  to 
Congress  to  appropriate  -money 
for  any  internal  improvement  in- 
tended to  facilitate  commerce ; 
except  for  the  purpose  of  furnish- 
ing lights,  beacons,  and  btioys, 
and  other  aid  to  navigation  ttpon 
the  coasts,  and  the  improvement 
of  harbors  and  the  removing  of 
obstructions  in  river  navigation, 
in  all  which  cases,  such  duties 
shall  be  laid  on  the  navigation 
facilitated  thereby,  as  may  be 
necessary  to  pay  the  costs  and  ex- 
penses thereof: 

To  establish  uniform  laws  of 
naturalization,  and  uniform  laws 
on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies, 
throughout  the  Confederate 
States ;  but  no  law  of  Congress 
shall  discharge  any  debt  con- 
tracted before  the  passage  of  the 
same  : 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the 
value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of 
weights  and  measures : 

To  provide  for  the  punishment 
of  counterfeiting  the  securities 
and  current  coin  of  the  Confed- 
erate States : 


342 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


To  establish  Post  Offices  and 
post  Roads ; 


To  promote  the  progress  of 
Science  and  useful  Arts,  by  se- 
curing for  limited  Times  to 
Authors  and  Inventors  the  ex- 
clusive Right  to  their  respective 
Writings  and  Discoveries ; 

To  constitute  Tribunals  in- 
ferior to  the  supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  Piracies 
and  Felonies  committed  on  the 
high  Seas,  and  Offences  against 
the  Law  of  Nations  ; 

To  declare  War,  grant  Letters 
of  Marque  and  Reprisal,  and 
make  Rules  concerning  Captures 
on  Land  and  Water ; 

To  raise  and  support  Armies, 
but  no  Appropriation  of  Money 
to  that  Use  shall  be  for  a  longer 
Term  than  two  Years  ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a 
Navy ; 

To  make  Rules  for  the  Gov- 
ernment and  Regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  Forces  ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth 
the  Militia  to  execute  the  Laws 
of  the  Union,  suppress  Insurrec- 
tions and  repel  Invasions ; 

To  provide  for  organizing, 
arming,  and  disciplining,  the 
Militia,  and  for  governing  such 
Part  of  them  as  may  be  em- 
ployed in  the  Service  of  the 
United  States,  reserving  to  the 
States  respectively,  the  Appoint- 
ment of  the  Officers,  and  the 


To  establish  post-offices  and 
post  routes ;  but  the  expenses  of 
the  Post-Office  Department,  after 
the  first  day  of  March,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  t  shall  be 
Paid  out  of  its  own  revenue  : 

To  promote  the  progress  of 
science  and  useful  arts,  by  se- 
curing for  limited  times  to 
authors  and  inventors  the  exclu- 
sive right  to  their  respective 
writings  and  discoveries  : 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior 
to  the  Supreme  Court : 

To  define  and  punish  piracies 
and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high-seas,  and  offenses  against 
the  law  of  nations : 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters 
of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures' 
on  land  and  on  water  : 

To  raise  and  support  armies, 
but  no  appropriation  of  money 
to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer 
term  than  two  years : 

To  provide  and  maintain  a 
navy : 

To  make  rules  for  the  govern- 
ment and  regulation  of  the  land 
and  naval  forces : 

To  provide  for  calling  forth 
the  militia  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  Confederate  States,  sup- 
press insurrections,  and  repel 
invasions : 

To  provide  for  organizing, 
arming,  and  disciplining  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such 
part  of  them  as  the  Confederate 
States,  reserving  to  the  States, 
respectively,  the  appointment  of 
the  officers,  and  the  authority  of 
training  the  militia  according  to 


APPENDIX    B, 


343 


Authority  of  training  the  Militia 
according  to  the  Discipline  pre- 
scribed by  Congress ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  Legisla* 
tion  in  all  Cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  District  (not  exceeding 
ten  Miles  square)  as  may,  by 
Cession  of  particular  States,  and 
the  Acceptance  of  Congress,  be- 
come the  Seat  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and 
to  exercise  like  Authority  over 
all  Places  purchased  by  the  Con- 
sent of  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  in  which  the  Same  shall  be, 
for  the  Erection  of  Forts,  Maga- 
zines, Arsenals,  Dock-Yards, 
and  other  needful  Buildings  ; — 
And 

To  make  all  Laws  which  shall 
be  necessary  and  proper  for  car- 
rying into  Execution  the  forego- 
ing Powers,  and  all  other  Powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in 
the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  any  Department  or 
Officer  thereof. 

SECTION  9.  The  Migration  or 
Importation  of  such  Persons  as 
any  of  the  States  now  existing 
shall  think  proper  to  admit, 
shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the 
Congress  prior  to  the  Year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight,  but  a  Tax  or  Duty  may  be 
imposed  on  such  Importation, 
not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for 
each  Person. 


The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of 
Habeas  Corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  Cases  of 


the     discipline     prescribed    by 
Congress ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  legisla- 
tion in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over 
such  district  (not  exceeding  ten 
miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession 
of  one  or  more  States,  and  the 
acceptance  of  Congress,  become 
the  seat  of  the  Government  of 
the  Confederate  States,  and  to 
exercise  like  authority  over  all 
places  purchased  by  the  consent 
of  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for 
the  erection  of  forts,  magazines, 
arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other 
needful  buildings ;  and 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall 
be  necessary  and  proper  for  car- 
rying into  execution  the  forego- 
ing powers,  and  all  other  powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in 
the  Government  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  or  in  any  depart- 
ment or  officer  thereof. 

SECTION  9.  The  importation  of 
negroes  of  the  African  race, 
from  any  foreign  country  other 
than  the  slave-holding  States  or 
Territories  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  is  hereby  forbidden  ; 
and  Congress  is  required  to  pass 
such  laws  as  shall  effectually  pre- 
vent the  same. 

Congress  shall  also  have  power 
to  prohibit  the  introduction  of 
slaves  from  any  State  not  a  mem- 
ber of,  or  Territory  not  belong- 
ing to,  this  Confederacy. 

«The  privilege  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when,  in  case  of 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


Rebellion  or  Mivasion  the  public 
Safety  may  require  it. 

No  Bill    of  Attainder    or    ex 
post  facto  Law  shall  be  passed. 


No  Capitation,  or  other  direct, 
Tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  Pro- 
portion to  the  Census  or  Enu- 
meration herein  before  directed 
to  be  taken. 

No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid 
on  Articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

No  Preference  shall  be  given 
by  any  Regulation  of  Commerce 
or  Revenue  to  the  Ports  of  one 
State  over  those  of  another ;  nor 
shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from, 
one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter, 
clear,  or  pay  Duties  in  another. 

No  Money  shall  be  drawn  from 
the  Treasury,  but  in  Conse- 
quence of  Appropriations  made 
by  Law ;  and  a  regular  State- 
ment and  Account  of  the  Re- 
ceipts and  Expenditures  of  all 
public  Money  shall  be  published 
from  time  to  time. 


rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public 
safety  may  require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post 
facto  law,  or  law  denying  or  im- 
pairing the  right  of  property  in 
negro  slaves  shall  be  passed. 

No  capitation  or  other  direct 
tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  pro- 
portion to  the  census  or  enu- 
meration hereinbefore  directed 
to  be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on 
articles  exported  from  any  State 
except  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of 
both  Honses. 

No  preference  shall  be  given 
by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one 
State  over  those  of  another. 


No  money  shall  be  drawn  from 
the  Treasury,  but  in  consequence 
of  appropriations  made  by  law  ; 
and  a  regular  statement  and  ac- 
count of  the  receipts  and  expen- 
ditures of  all  public  money  shall 
be  published  from  time  to  time. 

Congress  shall  appropriate  no 
money  from  the  Treasury,  ex- 
cept by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of 
both  Houses,  taken  by  yeas  and 
nays,  unless  it  be  asked  and  esti- 
mated for  by  some  one  of  the 
heads  of  departments,  and  sub- 
mitted to  Congress  by  the  Presi- 
dent; or  for  the  purpose  of 
paying  its  own  expenses  and  con- 
tingencies ;  or  for  the  payment 
of  claims  against  the  Confederate 
States,  the  justice  of  which  shall 
have  been  judicially  declared  by 
a  tribunal  for  the  investigation 


APPENDIX    B. 


345 


No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be 
granted  by  the  United  States ; 
And  no  Person  holding  any 
Office  of  Profit  or  Trust  under 
them,  shall,  without  the  Consent 
of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any 
present,  Emolument,  Office,  or 
Title,  of  any  kind  whatever, 
from  any  King,  Prince,  or  for- 
eign State. 


of  claims  against  the  Govern- 
ment, which  it  is  hereby  made 
the  duty  of  Congress  to  establish. 

All  bills  appropriating  money 
shall  specify,  in  Federal  cur- 
rency, the  exact  amount  of  each 
appropriation,  and  the  purposes 
for  which  it  is  made ;  and  Con- 
gress shall  grant  no  extra  com- 
pensation to  any  public  contractor, 
officer,  agent,  or  servant,  after 
such  contract  shall  have  been 
made  or  stick  serice  rendered. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be 
granted  by  the  Confederate 
States ;  and  no  person  holding 
any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under 
them  shall,  without  the  consent 
of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any 
present,  emolument,  office,  or 
title  of  any  kind  whatever,  from 
any  king,  prince,  or  foreign 
state. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law 
respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  'prohibiting  the  free 
exercise  thereof;  or  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the 
press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble  and  peti- 
tion the  Government  for  a  re- 
dress of  grievances. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being 
necessary  to  the  security  of  a 
free  state,  the  right  of  the  peo  • 
pie  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall 
not  be  infringed. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of 
peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner; 
nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  man- 
ner to  be  prescribed  by  law 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be 
secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  un- 


346  UFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


reasonable  searches  and  seiz- 
ures, shall  not  be  violated  ;  and 
no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon 
probable  cause,  supported  by 
oath  or  affirmation,  and  particu- 
larly describing  the  place  to  be 
searched,  and  the  persons  or 
things  to  be  seized. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to 
answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  pre- 
sentment or  indictment  of  a 
grand  jury,  except  in  cases  aris- 
ing in  the  land  or  naval  forces, 
or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  war  or  public 
danger ;  nor  shall  any  person  be 
subject,  for  the  same  offense,  to 
be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life 
or  limb ;  nor  be  compelled,  in 
any  criminal  case,  to  be  a  wit- 
ness against  himself;  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty, without  due  process  of  law ; 
nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use  without  just 
compensation. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions, 
the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right 
to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by 
an  impartial  jury  of  the  State 
and  district  wherein  the  crime 
shall  have  been  committed, 
which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law, 
and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature 
and  cause  of  the  accusation ;  to 
be  confronted  with  the  witnesses 
against  him  ;  to  have  compul- 
sory process  for  obtaining  wit- 
nesses in  his  favor  ;  and  to  have 
the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his 
defense. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where 
the  value  in  controversy  shall 


APPENDIX    B. 


347 


SECTION  10.  No  State  shall 
enter  into  any  Treaty,  Alliance, 
or  Confederation  ;  grant  Letters 
of  Marque  and  Reprisal ;  coin 
Money ;  emit  Bills  of  Credit ; 
make  any  Thing  but  gold  and 
silver  Coin  a  Tender  in  Payment 
of  Debts ;  pass  any  Bill  of  At- 
tainder, ex  post  facto  Law,  or 
Law  impairing  the  Obligation  of 
Contracts,  or  grant  any  Title  of 
Nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  tne 
consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
Imposts  or  Duties  on  Imports  or 
Exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  ex- 
ecuting its  inspection  Laws  ;  and 
the  net  Produce  of  all  Duties 
and  Imposts,  laid  by  any  State 
on  Imports  or  Exports,  shall  be 
for  the  Use  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States ;  and  all  such 
Laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  Re- 
vision and  Controul  of  the  Con- 
gress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the 
Consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
Duty  of  Tonnage,  keep  Troops, 
or  Ships  of  War  in  time  of  Peace, 


exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right 
of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  pre- 
served ;  and  no  fact  so  tried  by  a 
jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-exam- 
ined in  any  court  of  the  Con- 
federacy, than  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  common  law. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  re- 
quired, nor  excessive  fines  im- 
posed, nor  cruel  and  unusual 
punishment  inflicted. 

Every  law,  or  resolution  hav- 
ing the  force  of  law,  shall  relate 
to  but  one  subject,  and  that  shall 
be  expressed  in  the  title. 

SECTION  10.  No  State  shall 
enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance, 
or  confederation ;  grant  letters 
of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin 
money  ;  make  anything  but  gold 
and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  pay- 
ment of  debts  ;  pass  any  bill  of 
attainder,  or  ex  post  facto  law, 
or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of 
contracts,  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the 
consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or 
exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  execu- 
ting its  inspection  laws  ;  and  the 
net  produce  of  all  duties  and 
imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on 
imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for 
the  use  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
Confederate  States  ;  and  all  such 
laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revi- 
sion and  control  of  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the 
consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  on  tonnage,  except  on  sea- 
going vessels  for  the  improve- 


LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    K.   JOHNSTON. 


enter  into  any  Agreement  or 
Compact  with  another  State, 
or  with  a  foreign  Power,  or  en- 
gage in  War,  unless  actually 
invaded,  or  in  such  imminent 
Danger  as  will  not  admit  of 
Delay. 


ARTICLE  II. 

SECTION  i.  The  executive 
Power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of 
America.  He  shall  hold  his 
Office  during  the  Term  of  four 
Years,  and,  together  with  the 
Vice  President,  chosen  for  the 
same  Term*  be  elected,  as  fol- 
lows : 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in 
such  Manner  as  the  Legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  Number  of 
Electors,  equal  to  the  whole 
Number  of  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives to  which  the  State 
may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  : 
but  no  Senator  or  Representa- 
tive, or  Person  holding  an  Office 
of  Trust  or  Profit  under  the 
United  States,  shall  be  appointed 
an  Elector. 


incnt  of  its  rivers  and  harbors 
navigated  by  the  said  vessels; 
but  such  duties  shall  not  conflict 
with  any  treaties  of  the  Con- 
federate States  with  foreign  na- 
tions. And  any  surplus  revenue 
thus  derived  shall,  after  making 
such  improvement,  be  paid  into 
the  common  Treasury  ;  nor  shall 
any  State  keep  troops  or  ships 
of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter 
into  any  agreement  or  compact 
with  another  State,  or  with  a 
foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war 
unless  actually  invaded,  or  in 
such  imminent  danger  as  will 
not  admit  of  delay.  But  when 
any  river  divides  or  flows  through 
two  or  more  States,  they  may 
enter  into  compacts  with  each 
other  to  improve  the  navigation 
thereof. 

ARTICLE  II. 

SECTION  i.  The  Executive 
power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  Confederate  States 
of  America.  He  and  the  Vice- 
President  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  the  term  of  six  years ;  but 
the  President  shall  not  be  re- 
eligible.  The  President  and  the 
Vice- President  shall  be  elected 
as  follows : 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in 
such  manner  as  the  Legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of 
electors,  equal  to  the  whole 
number  of  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives to  which  the  State 
may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  ; 
but  no  Senator  or  Representa- 
tative,  or  person  holding  an 
office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the 
Confederate  States,  shall  be  ap- 
pointed an  elector. 


APPENDIX    B. 


349 


*The  Electors  shall  meet  in 
their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  Ballot  for  two  Persons,  of 
whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be 
an  Inhabitant  of  the  same  State 
with  themselves.  And  they 
shall  make  a  List  of  all  the  Per- 
sons voted  for,  and  of  the  Num- 
ber of  Votes  for  each ;  which 
List  they  shall  sign  and  certify, 
and  transmit  sealed  to  the  Seat 
of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President 
of  the  Senate.  The  President  of 
the  Senate  shall,  in  the  Presence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  open  all  the 
Certificates,  and  the  Votes  shall 
then  be  counted.  The  Person 
having  the  greatest  Number  of 
Votes  shall  be  the  President,  if 
such  Number  be  a  Majority  of 
the  whole  Number  of  Electors 
appointed  ;  and  if  there  be  more 
than  one  who  have  such  Ma- 
jority and  have  an  equal  Num- 
ber of  Votes,  then  the  House  of 
Representatives  shall  immedi- 
ately chuse  by  Ballot  one  of  them 
for  President ;  and  if  no  Person 
have  a  Majority,  then  from  the 
five  highest  on  the  List  the  said 
House  shall  in  like  Manner  chuse 
the  President.  But  in  chusing 
the  President,  the  Votes  shall  be 
taken  by  States,  the  Representa- 
tion from  each  State  having  one 
Vote ;  a  Quorum  for  this  Pur- 
pose shall  consist  of  a  Member 
or  Members  from  two-thirds  of 
the  States,  and  a  Majority  of  all 
the  States  shall  be  necessary  to 
a  Choice.  In  every  Case,  after 


The  electors  shall  meet  in 
their  respective  States  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice- 
President,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the 
same  State  with  themselves ; 
they  shall  name  in  their  ballots 
the  person  voted  for  as  Presi- 
dent, and  in  distinct  ballots  the 
person  voted  for  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent,  and  they  shall  make  dis- 
tinct lists  of  all  persons  voted 
for  as  President,  and  all  persons 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  for  each, 
which  list  they  shall  sign  and 
certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to 
the  seat  of  the  Government  of 
the  Confederate  States,  directed 
to  the  President  of  the  Senate. 
The  President  of  the  Senate 
shall,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, open  all  the  certificates, 
and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted.  The  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  for 
President  shall  be  the  President, 
if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed ;  and  if  no  person 
have  such  a  majority,  then  from 
the  persons  having  the  highest 
numbers  not  exceeding  three  on 
the  list  of  those  voted  for  as 
President,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  choose  immedi- 
ately, by  ballot,  the  President. 
But  in  choosing  the  President, 
the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
States,  the  representation  from 
each  State  having  one  vote ;  a 
quorum  for  this  purpose  shall 


•Superseded  by  the  twelfth  amendment. 


350 


LIFE    OF    GEN.  JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


the  Choice  of  the  President,  the 
Person  having  the  greatest  Num- 
ber of  Votes  of  the  Electors 
shall  be  the  Vice-President.  But 
if  there  should  remain  two  or 
more  who  have  equal  Votes,  the 
Senate  shall  chuse  from  them 
by  Ballot  the  Vice-President. 


The  Congress  may  determine 
the  Time  of  chusing  the  Electors, 
and  the  Day  on  which  they  shall 
give  their  Votes ;  which  Day 
shall  be  the  same  throughout 
the  United  States. 

No  Person  except  a  natural 
born  Citizen,  or  a  Citizen  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  time  of  the 
Adoption  of  this  Constitution, 
shall  be  eligible  to  the  Office  of 


consist  of  a  member  or  members 
from  two-thirds  of  the  States, 
and  a  majority  of  all  the  States 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives shall  not  choose  a  Presi- 
dent whenever  the  right  of 
choice  shall  devolve  upon  them, 
before  the  fourth  day  of  March 
next  following,  then  the  Vice- 
President  shall  act  as  President, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or 
other  constitutional  disability  of 
the  President. 

The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent, shall  be  the  Vice-President, 
if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed ;  and  if  no  person 
have  a  majority,  then  from  the 
two  highest  numbers  on  the  list 
the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice- 
President.  A  quorum  for  the 
purpose  shall  consist  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of 
Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  shall  be  neces- 
sary to  a  choice. 

But  no  person  constitutionally 
ineligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent shall  be  eligible  to  that  of 
Vice-President  of  the  Confed- 
erate States. 

The  Congress  may  determine 
the  time  of  choosing  the  electors, 
and  the  day  on  which  they  shall 
'give  their  votes  ;  which  day  shall 
be  the  same  throughout  the  Con- 
federate States. 

No  person  except  a  natural 
born  citizen  of  the  Confederate 
States,  or  a  citizen  thereof  at  the 
lime  of  the  adoption  of  this  Con- 
stitution, or  a  citizen  thereof 


APPENDIX    B. 


351 


President ;  neither  shall  any 
Person  be  eligible  to  that  Office 
who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  Age  of  thirty-five  Years,  and 
been  fourteen  Years  a  Resident 
within  the  United  States. 


In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the 
President  from  Office,  or  of  his 
Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability 
to  discharge  the  Powers  and 
Duties  of  the  said  office,  the 
same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice 
President,  and  the  Congress 
may  by  Law  provide  for  the 
Case  of  Removal,  Death,  Resign- 
ation, or  Inability,  both  of  the 
President  and  Vice  President, 
declaring  what  Officer  shall  then 
act  as  President,  and  such  Officer 
shall  act  accordingly,  until  the 
Disability  be  removed,  or  a 
President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated 
Times,  receive  for  his  Services, 
a  Compensation,  which  shall 
neither  be  encreased  nor  dimin- 
ished during  the  Period  for  which 
he  shall  have  been  elected,  and 
he  shall  not  receive  within  that 
Period  any  other  Emolument 
from  the  United  States,  or  any 
of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  Execu- 
tion of  his  Office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  Oath  or  Affirma- 
tion : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or 
"affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  exe- 
"cute  the  Office  of  President  of 
"the  United  States,  and  will  to 


born  in  the  United  States  prior  to 
the  2oth  of  December,  1860,  shall 
be  eligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent ;  neither  shall  any  person 
be  eligible  to  that  office  who 
shall  not  have  attained  the  age  of 
thirty-five  years,  and  been  four- 
teen years  a  resident  within  the 
limits  of  the  Confederate  States, 
as  they  may  exist  at  the  time  of 
his  election. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the 
President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability 
to  discharge  the  powers  and  du- 
ties of  the  said  office,  the  same 
shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent ;  and  the  Congress  may, 
by  law,  provide  for  the  case  of 
removal,  death,  resignation,  or 
inability,  both  of  the  President 
and  Vice-President,  declaring 
what  officer  shall  then  act  as 
President ;  and  such  officer  shall 
act  accordingly,  until  the  disa- 
bility be  removed  or  a  President 
shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated 
times,  receive  for  his  services 
a  compensation,  which  shall 
neither  be  increased  nor  dimin- 
ished during  the  period  for  which 
he  shall  have  been  elected  •  and 
he  shall  not  receive  within  that 
period  any  other  emolument 
from  the  Confederate  States,  or 
any  of  them. 

Before  he  enters  on  the  execu- 
tion of  his  office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or 
affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  exe- 
cute the  office  of  President  of 
the  Confederate  States  of  Amer- 


352 


LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


"the  best  of  my  Ability,  pre- 
"serve,  protect  and  defend  the 
"Constitution  of  the  United 
"States." 

SECTION  2.  The  President  shall 
be  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  Militia  of  the 
several  States,  when  called  into 
the  actual  Service  of  the  United 
States ;  he  may  require  the 
Opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  prin- 
cipal Officer  in  each  of  the  ex- 
ecutive Departments,  upon  any 
Subject  relating  to  the  Duties  of 
their  respective  Offices,  and  he 
shall  have  Power  to  grant  Re- 
prieves and  Pardons  for  Offences 
against  the  United  States,  exceot 
in  Cases  of  Impeachment. 

He  shall  have  Power,  by  and 
with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  Treaties, 
provided  two-thirds  of  the  Sena- 
tors present  concur ;  and  he 
shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with 
the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the 
Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassa- 
dors, other  public  Ministers  and 
Consuls,  Judges  of  the  supreme 
Court,  and  all  other  Officers  of 
the  United  States,  whose  Ap- 
pointments are  not  herein  other- 
wise provided  for,  and  which 
shall  be  established  by  Law ; 
but  the  Congress  may  by  Law 
vest  the  Appointment  of  such  in- 
ferior Officers,  as  they  think 
proper,  in  the  President  alone, 
in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in  the 
Heads  of  Departments. 


ica,  and  will  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  preserve,  protect,  and 
defend  the  Constitution  thereof.11 

SECTION  -2.  The  President  shall 
be  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Army  any  Navy  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  and  of  the  mili- 
tia of  the  several  States,  when 
called  into  the  actual  service  of 
the  Confederate  States ;  he  may 
require  the  opinion,  in  writing, 
of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of 
the  executive  departments,  upon 
any  subject  relating  to  the  du- 
ties of  their  respective  offices,  and 
he  shall  have  power  to  grant  re- 
prieves and  pardons  for  offenses 
against  the  Confederacy,  except 
in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  treaties, 
provided  two  thirds  of  the  Sena- 
tors present  concur  ;  and  he  shall 
nominate,  and  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate 
shall  appoint  ambassadors,  other 
public  ministers  and  consuls, 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court 
and  all  other  officers  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  whose  appoint- 
ments are  not  herein  otherwise 
provided  for,  and  which  shall  be 
established  by  law  ;  but  the  Con- 
gress may  by  law  vest  the  ap- 
pointment of  such  inferior  offi- 
cers, as  they  think  proper,  in  the 
President  alone,  in  the  courts  of 
law,  or  in  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments. 

The  principal  officer  in  each  of 
the  executive  departments,  and 
all  persons  connected  with  the 
diplomatic  service,  may  be  re- 


APPENDIX    B. 


353 


The  President  shall  have 
Power  to  fill  up  all  Vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  Re- 
cess of  the  Senate,  by  granting 
Commissions  which  shall  expire 
at  the  End  of  their  next  Session. 


SECTION  3.  He  shall  from  time 
to  time  give  to  the  Congress  In- 
formation of  the  State  of  the 
Union,  and  recommend  to  their 
Consideration  such  Measures  as 
he  shall  judge  necessary  and  ex- 
pedient ;  he  may,  on  extraor- 
dinary Occasions,  convene  both 
Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and 
in  Case  of  Disagreement  between 
them,  with  Respect  to  the  time 
of  Adjournment,  he  may  adjourn 
them  to  such  Time  as  he  shall 
think  proper ;  he  shall  receive 
Ambassadors  and  other  public 
Ministers ;  he  shall  take  Care 
that  the  Laws  be  faithfully  exe- 
cuted, and  shall  Commission  all 
the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

SECTION  4.  The  President, 
Vice  President  and  all  civil  Offi- 


movedfrom  office  at  the  pleasure 
of  the  President.  All  other  civil 
officers  of  the  executive  depart- 
ment may  be  removed  at  any  time 
by  the  President,  or  other  ap- 
pointing power,  when  their  ser- 
vices are  unnecessary,  or  for  dis- 
honesty, incapacity,  inefficiency, 
misconduct,  or  neglect  of  duty  ; 
and,  when  so  removed,  the  re- 
moval shall  be  reported  to  the 
Senate,  together  with  the  reasons 
therefor. 

The  President  shall  have 
power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  re- 
cess of  the  Senate,  by  granting 
commissions  which  shall  expire 
at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 
But  no  person  rejected  by  the 
Senate  shall  be  reappointed  to  the 
same  office  during  their  ensuing 
recess^ 

SECTION  3.  The  President  shall 
from  time  to  time  give  to  the 
Congress  information  of  the 
state  of  the  Confederacy,  and 
recommend  to  their  considera- 
tion such  measures  as  he  shall 
judge  necessary  and  expedient ; 
he  may  on  extraordinary  occa- 
sions convene  both  Houses,  or 
either  of  them ;  and  in  case  of 
disagreement  between  them, 
with  respect  to  the  time  of  ad- 
journment, he  may  adjourn  them 
to  such  time  as  he  shall  think 
proper  ;  he  shall  receive  ambas- 
sadors and  other  public  min- 
isters ;  he  shall  take  care  that 
the  laws  be  faithfully  executed, 
and  shall  commission  all  the 
officers  of  the  Confederate  States. 

SECTION  4.  The  President, 
Vice-President,  and  all  civil  offi- 


354 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


cers  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  removed  from  Office  on  Im- 
peachment for,  and  Conviction 
of,  Treason,  Bribery,  or  other 
high  Crimes  and  Misdemeanors. 


cers  of  the  Confederate  States, 
shall  be  removed  from  office  on 
impeachment  for  and  conviction 
of  treason,  bribery,  or  other 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 


ARTICLE  III. 

SECTION  i.  The  Judicial  Power 
of  the  United  States',  shall  be 
vested  in  one  supreme  Court, 
and  in  such  inferior  Courts  as 
the  Congress  may  from  time  to 
time  ordain  and  establish.  The 
Judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and 
inferior  Courts,  shall  hold  their 
Offices  during  good  Behavior, 
and  shall,  at  stated  times,  re- 
ceive for  their  Services,  a  Com- 
pensation which  shall  not  be 
diminished  during  their  Con- 
tinuance in  Office. 

SECTION  2.  The  judicial  Power 
shall  extend  to  all  Cases,  in  Law 
and  Equity,  arising  under  this 
Constitution,  the  Laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  Treaties 
made,  or  which  shall  be  made, 
under  their  Authority  ; — to  all 
Cases  affecting  Ambassadors, 
other  public  Ministers  and  Con- 
suls ; — to  all  Cases  of  admiralty 
and  maritime  Jurisdiction  ; — to 
Controversies  to  which  the 
United  States  shall  be  a  Party ; 
to  Controversies  between  two  or 
more  States  ; — between  a  State 
and  Citizens  of  another  State  ; — 
between  Citizens  of  different 
States, — between  Citizens  of  the 
same  State  claiming  Lands 
under  Grants  of  different  States, 
and  between  a  State,  or  the 
Citizens  thereof,  and  foreign 
States,  Citizens  or  Subjects. 


ARTICLE  III. 

SECTION  i.  The  judicial  power 
of  the  Confederate  States  shall 
be  vested  in  one  Supreme  Court, 
and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the 
Congress  may  from  time  to  time 
ordain  and  establish.  The 
Judges,  both  of  the  Supreme 
and  inferior  Courts,  shall  hold 
their  officers  during  good  be- 
havior, and  shall,  at  stated  times, 
receive  for  their  services  a  com- 
pensation, which  shall  not  be 
diminished  during  their  continu- 
ance in  office. 

SECTION  2.  The  judicial  power 
shall  extend  to  all  cases  arising 
under  this  Constitution,  the  laws 
of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be 
made,  under  their  authority ;  to 
all  cases  affecting  ambassadors, 
other  public  ministers,  and  con- 
suls ;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty 
and  maritime  jurisdiction;  to 
controversies  to  which  the  Con- 
federate States  shall  be  a  party  ; 
to  controversies  between  two  or 
more  States ;  between  a  State 
and  citizens  of  another  State, 
7chcre  the  State  is  plaintiff ;  be- 
tween citizens  claiming  lands 
under  grants  of  different  States, 
and  between  a  State  or  the  citi- 
zens thereof,  and  foreign  states, 
citizens,  or  subjects.  But  no 
State  shaft  be  sited  by  a  citizen  of 
subject  of  any  foreign  state. 


APPENDIX    B. 


355 


In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambas- 
sadors, other  public  Ministers 
and  Consuls,  and  those  in  which 
a  State  shall  be  Party,  the  su- 
preme Court  shall  have  original 
Jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other 
Cases  before  mentioned,  the  su- 
preme Court  shall  have  appel- 
late Jurisdiction,  both  as  to  Law 
and  Fact,  with  such  Exceptions, 
and  under  such  Regulations  as 
the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except 
Cases  of  Impeachment,  shall  be 
by  Jury  ;  and  such  Trial  shall  be 
held  in  the  State  where  the  said 
Crimes  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  when  not  committed 
within  any  State,  the  Trial  shall 
be  at  such  Place  or  Places  as  the 
Congress  may  by  Law  have 
directed. 

SECTION  3.  Treason  against 
the  United  States,  shall  consist 
only  in  levying  War  against 
them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
Enemies,  giving  them  Aid  and 
Comfort.  No  Person  shall  be 
convicted  of  Treason  unless  on 
the  Testimony  of  two  Witnesses 
to  the  'same  overt  Act,  or  on 
Confession  in  open  Court. 

The  Congress  shall  have 
Power  to  declare  the  Punish- 
ment of  Treason,  but  no  Attain- 
der of  Treason  shall  work  Cor- 
ruption of  Blood,  or  Forfeiture 
except  during  the  Life  of  the 
Person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

SECTION  i.  Full  Faith  and 
Credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
State  to  the  public  Acts,  Rec- 
ords, and  judicial  Proceedings 


In  all  cases  affecting  ambassa- 
dors, other  public  ministers  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a 
State  shall  be  party,  the  Su- 
preme Court  shall  have  original 
jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other 
cases  before  mentioned,  the  Su- 
preme Court  shall  have  appel- 
late jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law 
and  fact,  with  such  exceptions 
and  under  such  regulations  as 
the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except 
in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall 
be  by  jury,  and  such  trial  shall 
be  held  in  the  State  where  the 
said  crimes  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  when  not  committed 
within  any  State  the  trial  shall 
be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the 
Congress  may  by  law  have 
directed. 

SECTION  3.  Treason  against 
the  Confederate  States  shall  con- 
sist only  in  levying  war  against 
them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
enemies,  giving  them  aid  and 
comfort.  No  person  shall  be 
convicted  of  treason  unless  on 
the  testimony  of  two  witnesses 
to  the  same  overt  act,  or-  on  con- 
fession in  open  court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power 
to  declare  the  punishment  of 
treason ;  but  no  attainder  of 
treason  shall  work  corruption  of 
blood,  or  forfeiture,  except 
during  the  life  of  the  person 
attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

SECTION  i.  Full  faith  and 
credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
State  to  the  public  acts,  records, 
and  judicial  proceedings  of  every 


356 


LIFE    OF    GEN. JOSEPH    E. JOHNSTON. 


of  every  other  State.  And  the 
Congress  may  by  general  La\\  s 
prescribe  the  Manner  in  which 
such  Acts,  Records  and  Proceed- 
ings shall  be  proved,  and  the 
Effect  thereof 

SECTION  2.  The  Citizens  of 
each  State  shall  be  entitled  to 
all  Privileges  and  Immunities  of 
Citizens  in  the  several  States. 


A  Person  charged  in  any  State 
with  Treason,  Felony,  or  other 
Crime,  who  shall  flee  from  Jus- 
tice, and  be  found  in  another 
State,  shall  on  Demand  of  the 
executive  Authority  of  the  State 
from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered 
up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State 
having  Jurisdiction  of  the  Crime. 

No  Person  held  to  Service  or 
Labour  in  one  State,  under  the 
Laws  thereof,  escaping  into  an- 
other, shall,  in  Consequence  of 
any  Law  or  Regulation  therein, 
be  discharged  from  such  Service 
or  Labour,  but  shall  be  delivered 
up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to 
whom  such  Service  or  Labour 
may  be  done. 


SECTION  3.  New  States  may  be 
admitted  by  the  Congress  into 
this  Union ;  but  no  new  State 
shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  Jurisdiction  of  any 
other  State ;  nor  any  State  be 
formed  by  the  Junction  of  two 


other  State.  And  the  Congress 
may,  by  general  laws,  prescribe 
the  manner  in  which  such  acts, 
records,  and  proceedings  shall 
be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

SECTION  2.  The  citizens  of 
each  State  shall  be  entitled  to 
all  the  privileges  and  immunities 
of  citizens  in  the  several  States, 
and  shall  have  the  right  of  transit 
and  sojourn  in  any  State  of  this 
Confederacy,  with  their  slaves 
and  other  property  ;  and  the  right 
of  property  in  said  slaves  shall 
not  be  thereby  impaired. 

A  person  charged  in  any  State 
with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime  against  the  laws  of  such 
State,  who  shall  flee  from  jus- 
tice, and  be  found  in  another 
State,  shall  on  demand  of  the 
Executive  authority  of  the  State 
from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered 
up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State 
having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

No  slave  or  other  person  held 
to  service  or  labor  in  any  State 
or  Territory  of  the  Confederate 
States,  under  the  laws  thereof, 
escaping  or  lawfully  carried  into 
another,  shall,  in  consequence 
of  any  law  or  regulation  therein, 
be  discharged  from  such  service 
or  labor  ;  but  shall  be  delivered 
up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom 
such  slave  belongs,  or  to  whom 
such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

SECTION  3.  Other  States  may 
be  admitted  into  this  Confederacy 
by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the 
whole  House  of  Representatives 
and  two  thirds  of  the1  Senate,  the 
Senate  voting  by  States  ;  but  no 
new  State  shall  be  formed  or 


APPENDIX    B. 


357 


or  more  States,  or  Paris  of 
States,  without  the  Consent  of 
the  Legislatures  of  the  States 
concerned  as  well  as  of  the 
Congress. 


The  Congress  shall  have 
power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  Rules  and  Regula- 
tions respecting  the  Territory  or 
other  Property  belonging  to  the 
United  States ;  and  nothing  in 
this  Constitution  shall  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  Prejudice  any  Claims 
of  the  United  States,  or  of  any 
particular  State. 


SECTION  4.  The  United  States 
shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in 
this  Union  a  Republican  Form 


erected  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  any  other  State;  nor  any 
State  be  formed  by  the  junction 
of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts 
of  States,  without  the  consent  of 
the  Legislatures  of  the  States 
concerned,  as  well  as  of  the 
Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have 
power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations 
concerning  the  property  of  the 
Confederate  States,  including  the 
lands  thereof. 


The  Confederate  States  may 
acquire  new  territory ;  and  Con- 
gress shall  have  power  to  legis- 
late and  provide  governments  for 
the  inhabitants  of  all  territory 
belonging  to  the  Confederate 
States,  lying-  without  the  limits  of 
the  several  States  ;  and  may  per- 
mit them,  at  such  times  and  in 
such  manner  as  it  may  by  law 
provide,  to  form  States  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  Confederacy.  In 
all  such  territory,  the  institution 
of  negro  slavery,  as  it  now  exists 
in  the  Confederate  States,  shall 
be  recognized  and  protected  by 
Congress  and  by  the  territorial 
government ;  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  several  Confederate  States 
and  Territories  shall  have  the 
right  to  take  to  such  Territory 
any  slaves  lawfully  held  by  them 
in  any  of  the  States  or  Terri- 
tories of  the  Confederate  States. 

The  Confederate  States  shall 
guarantee  to  every  State  that 
now  is  or  hereafter  may  becotne» 


35* 


LIFE    OF    GEN.   JOSEPH    E.   JOHNSTON. 


of  Government,  and  shall  pro- 
tect each  of  them  against  Inva- 
sion, and  on  Application  of  the 
Legislature,  or  of  he  Executive 
(when  the  Legislature  cannot  be 
convened)  against  domestic  Vio- 
lence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two- 
thirds  of  both  Houses  shall 
deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose 
Amendments  to  this  Constitu- 
tion, or,  on  the  application  of 
the  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of 
the  several  States,  shall  call 
a  Convention  for  proposing 
Amendments,  which,  in  either 
Case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  In- 
tents and  Purposes,  as  Part  of 
this  Constitution,  when  ratified 
by  the  Legislatures  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  several  States,  or 
by  Conventions  in  three-fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other 
Mode  of  Ratification  may  be 
proposed  by  the  Congress  :  Pro- 
vided that  no  Amendment  which 
may  be  made  prior  to  the  Year 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eight  shall  in  any  Manner  affect 
the  first  and  fourth  Clauses  in 
the  Ninth  Section  of  the  first 
Article  ;  and  that  no  State,  with- 
out its  Consent,  shall  be  de- 
prived of  its  equal  Suffrage  in 
the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

All  Debts  contracted  and  En- 
gagements entered  into,  before 
the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution, 
shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  under  thisConstitu- 
tion,  as  under  the  Confederation. 


a  member  of  this  Confederacy,  a 
republican  form  of  government ; 
and  shall  protect  each  of  them 
against  invasion  ;  and  on  appli- 
cation of  the  Legislature  (or  of 
the  Executive  when  the  Legisla- 
ture is  not  in  session),  against 
domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

SECTION  i.  Upon  the  demand 
of  any  three  States,  legally  as- 
sembled in  their  several  conven- 
tions the  Congress  shall  summon 
a  Convention  of  all  the  Slates,  to 
take  into  consideration  such 
amendments  to  the  Constitution 
as  the  said  States  shall  concur  in 
suggesting  at  the  time  when  the 
said  demand  is  made  ;  and  should 
any  of  the  proposed  amendments 
to  the  Constitution  be  agreed  on 
by  the  said  Convention — voting 
by  States — and  the  same  be  rati- 
fied by  the  Legislatures  of  two 
thirds  of  the  several  States,  or 
by  conventions  in  two  thirds 
thereof—  as  the  one  or  the  other 
mode  of  ratification  may  be  pro- 
posed by  the  general  Convention 
— they  shall  thenceforward  form 
a  part  of  this  Constitution.  But 
no  State  shall,  without  its  con- 
sent, be  deprived  of  its  equal 
representation  in  the  Senate. 


ARTICLE  VI. 

The  Government  established 
by  this  Constitution  is  the  succes- 
sor of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America,  and  all  the  laws  passed 
by  the  latter  shall  continue  in 


APPENDIX    B. 


359 


This  Constitution,  and  the 
Laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  Pursuance 
thereof;  and  all  Treaties  made, 
or  which  shall  be  made,  under 
the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  the  supreme 
Law  of  the  Land  ;  and  the  Judges 
in  every  State  shall  be  bound 
thereby,  any  Thing  in  the  Con- 
stitution or  Laws  of  any  State  to 
the  Contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives before  mentioned,  and  the 
Members  of  the  several  State 
Legislatures,  and  all  executive 
and  judicial  Officers,  both  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  several 
States,  shall  be  bound  by  Oath 
or  Affirmation,  to  support  this 
Constitution ;  but  no  religious 
Test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
Qualification  to  any  Office  or 
public  Trust  under  the  United 
States 


force  until  the  same  shall  be 
repealed  or  modified  ;  and  all  the 
officers  appointed  by  the  same 
shall  remain  in  office  until  their 
successors  are  appointed  and 
qualified,  or  the  offices  abolished. 

All  debts  contracted  and  en- 
gagements entered  into  before 
the  adoption  of  this  Constitution 
shall  be  as  valid  against  the  Con- 
federate States  under  this  Con- 
stitution as  under  the  Provi- 
sional Government. 

This  Constitution,  and  the 
laws  of  the  Confederate  States 
made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and 
all  treaties  made  or  which  shall 
be  made  under  the  authority  of 
the  Confederate  States,  shall  be 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land ; 
and  the  Judges  in  every  State 
shall  be  bound  thereby,  any- 
thing in  the  Constitution  or  laws 
of  any  State  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives before  mentioned,  and  the 
members  of  the  several  State 
Legislatures,  and  all  executive 
and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the 
Confederate  States  and  of  the 
several  States,  shall  be  bound 
by  oath  or  affirmation  to  sup- 
port this  Constitution ;  but  no 
religious  test  shall  ever  be  re- 
quired as  a  qualification  to  any 
office  or  public  trust  under  the 
Confederate  States. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Con- 
stitution, of  certain  rights,  shall 
not  be  construed  to  deny  or  dis- 
parage others  retained  by  the 
people  of  the  several  States. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to 
the  Confederate  States  by  the 


3<5o 


LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 


ARTICLE  VII. 

The  Ratification  of  the  Con- 
ventions of  nine  States,  shall  be 
sufficient  for  the  Establishment 
of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  Same. 


Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by 
it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to 
the  States,  respectively,  or  to 
the  people  thereof. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

The  ratification  of  the  Con- 
ventions of  five  States  shall  be 
sufficient  for  the  establishment 
of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

When  Jive  States  shall  have 
ratified  this  Constitution,  in  the 
manner  before  specified,  the  Con- 
gress under  the  Provisional  Con- 
stitution shall  prescribe  the  time 
for  holding  the  election  of  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President,  and  for 
the  meeting  of  the  electoral  col- 
lege, and  for  counting  the  votes, 
and  inaugurating  the  President. 
They  shall  also  prescribe  the 
time  for  holding  the  fi'rst  election 
of  members  of  Congress  under 
this  Constitution,  and  the  time 
for  assembling  the  same.  Until 
the  assembling  of  such  Congress, 
the  Congress  under  the  Provi- 
sional Constitution  shall  continue 
to  exercise  the  legislative  powers 
granted  them;  not  extending  be- 
yond the  time  limited  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment. 


Articles  in  Addition  to,  and  Amendment  of,  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  Proposed  by  Congress,  and  ratified 
by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  pursuant  to  the  fifth 
article  of  the  original  Constitution. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  .prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people 


APPENDIX    B.  36;! 

peaceably  to  assemble,   and   to  petition   the   Government    for  a 
redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II. 

A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free 
State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  Arms,  shall  not  be 
infringed. 

ARTICLE  III. 

No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

*  ARTICLE  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  Warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  prob- 
able cause,  supported  by  Oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

ARTICLE  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  Grand 
Jury,  except  in  cases  arising  tii  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the 
Militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  War  or  public  danger ; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
Criminal  Case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of 
life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law  ;  nor  shall 
private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to 
i\  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  dis- 
trict wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district 
shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed 
of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confronted  with 
the  witnesses  against  him  ;  to  have  Compulsory  process  for  obtain- 
ing Witnesses  in  his  favour,  and  to  have  the  Assistance  of  Counsel 
for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

In  Suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved, 
and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any 


362  LIFE    OF    GEN.    JOSEPH    E.  JOHNSTON. 

Court  of  the  United  States,  than   according  to  the   rules  of  the 
common  law. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Excessive  oail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

\RTICLE  XII.* 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  President  and  Vice  President,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves  ;  they 
shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and 
in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  they 
shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and 
of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice  President,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed 
to  the  President  of  the  Senate  ; — The  President  of  the  Senate  shall, 
in  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all 
the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted  ; — The  person 
having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then 
from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But 
in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the 
representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum  for  this 
purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of 
the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a 
President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them, 
before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other 
constitutional  disability  of  the  President.— The  person  having  the 
greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice  President,  shall  be  the  Vice 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
Electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from 
the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the 
Vice  President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no  person  con- 
stitutionally ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to 
that  of  Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 


This  article  is  substituted  for  Clause  3, 
It  was  declared  adopted  in  1804. 


Sec.  I.,  Art.  II,  page  66:,  r.nd  annuls  it. 


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